


I will travel across the land

by fluidfox



Series: Haikyuu!! Pokémon AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Hinata Shouyou-centric, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio-centric, I really took some liberties with this just stick with me, M/M, Pokemon, Pokemon Journey, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 38,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23406028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluidfox/pseuds/fluidfox
Summary: “When he reached the top of the rocky ledge he was climbing, he expected to see the Pyricius Lake glimmering at him. It’s where he wanted to go, after all. He’d been climbing for days.What he hadn’t expected to see was someone who’d beaten him up there.The stranger, eyes wide with surprise and confusion, stared back at Hinata. He dropped the pokeball in his hand.‘Who the fuck are you?!’”——Hinata is a wandering trainer. Kageyama is a lost soul. Together, they make one hell of a team.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Haikyuu!! Pokémon AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923349
Comments: 19
Kudos: 128





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify because I’m a mess:  
> This story takes place in a nonexistent region. Pokémon up to gen 3/Hoenn are present, and fairy types exist.  
> Basically, it’s Hoenn, but with made-up places and fairy type Pokémon.

When he reached the top of the rocky ledge he was climbing, he expected to see the Pyricius Lake glimmering at him. It’s where he wanted to go, after all. He’d been climbing for days. 

What he hadn’t expected to see was someone who’d beaten him up there. 

The stranger, eyes wide with surprise and confusion, stared back at Hinata. He dropped the pokeball in his hand. 

“Who the fuck are you?!” Hinata sputtered, his grip on the edge loosening. 

“Who am I? Who the hell are you?!” The man shouted back. 

“I asked you first!”

“Why should I tell you?”

Hinata gritted his teeth. He could already tell that he hated this guy. As he took a deep breath to scream back at him, his hand slipped from the rock he was grasping. With a yelp, he flailed his legs about and grabbed the ledge again. 

The man approached him as he was regaining his composure. He stared down at Hinata with disdain. “Dumbass, you don’t even know how to pull yourself up? How the fuck did you make it this far?”

Hinata scuttled up onto the top and glared up at him. “I can pull myself up! You just distracted me!” He stood and brushed his shorts off. “And I’ve climbed plenty of mountains before!”

“I seriously doubt that, shorty.” With a swoop, he picked up the dropped pokeball. “You’re too small to climb a diglett hill.” He snickered, then began to walk off. 

“Hey! Moron! You can’t just run!”

The stranger stopped and turned to face him once more. “What? You wanna fight? You could never beat me. I’ll bet you don’t even train your pokemon well, either.”

“Oh, you wanna fight? You asshole!” Hinata whipped out a pokeball and held it in front of him. “Your Pokémon probably hate you, since you’re such a jerk!”

“You’re so fucking annoying,” the man grumbled. He brushed the dark hair out of his eyes and pulled out the ball he’d just retrieved. “I’m gonna whoop your ass.” 

He threw the ball up into the air with surprising grace, and it exploded into the familiar red light that Hinata always found exciting. It morphed into-

“A wartortle?!” Hinata exclaimed. 

“Wha-“

Ignoring the man completely, Hinata bounced up to the little Pokémon with a bright smile. “So cool! I haven’t ever seen one in person before!” He reached a hand out to the wartortle, who gave it a sniff before letting Hinata pet it. 

“Uh- yeah, he’s- he’s my partner. Had him for years now.” The stranger started fidgeting. 

“He’s so friendly! And cool! What an amazing Pokémon!” Hinata giggled as the wartortle jumped on top of him. 

“You said ‘cool’ twice now, idiot,” the man hissed quietly, but his face seemed proud. 

“You wanna see my torchic?” 

His eyes glimmered. “A torchic?! You have a torchic?!”

Hinata grinned and sent his Pokémon out with a terrific “yup!” 

Torchic had been with Hinata ever since he was 10, when his mother gave her to him for his birthday. She was Hinata’s friend and partner for 9 years, so by the time he was showing her off to this stranger, he already knew how she was going to behave. The thought made him giggle before she even appeared. 

She popped into the world with an excited chirp, her little head turning this way and that to investigate her surroundings. Upon seeing the strange man, she peeped at him with joy and darted to his feet, running tiny circles around him as fast as she could. The man’s mouth dropped open. 

“Isn’t she great? She seems to like you, even though you’re a jerk, so maybe you’re not so bad.” Hinata beamed with pride as the man’s dark, cold eyes began to sparkle. 

The man crouched down to see torchic better, who stopped running to stare back up at him. Gently, he scooped her into his hands and held her to his face. “Hey,” he said. 

Torchic chattered happily and climbed onto his head. 

“She loves to climb people,” Hinata explained. “A lot of times, I let her ride on my head.”

“Is that why your hair looks like shit?”

“Wh-hey!” Hinata grumbled, running his hands through his orange mess. He marched over to the stranger and extended his hand firmly. “I’m Hinata. Hinata Shoyo.”

The man pouted, but shook it. “Kageyama Tobio.”

“Nice to meet you, Kageyama!”

“Mm,” he grumbled.

“You could say something more nice back. Like ‘nice to meet you, too,’ or ‘same here!’” Hinata crossed his arms. 

Kageyama stood abruptly, his head rocketing poor torchic into a fall. “Asshole, don’t tell me how to talk!”

“Well, don’t be such jerk, then, Stupidyama!”

“Don’t call me that, you stupid shrimp!”

The sunset glowed marvelously behind them, but neither of them noticed. 

——

“So why did you come all the way up here?”

Kageyama tasted his soup, then, seeming satisfied, sat down near Hinata and began eating. “Training,” he said between slurps. 

“Well, yeah, but you don’t have to come all the way up here to do that. There’s not even many wild Pokémon on Mt. Pyricius.”

He shrugged. “I dunno. Why did you come here, then?”

Hinata stretched his arms to the sky and flopped onto his back. “I love to travel. I wanna see the whole region and all the Pokémon I can find!” He sighed contentedly. “I just follow wherever my heart wants to go.”

“That sounds chaotic,” Kageyama replied. 

“Well, yeah. I’ve been wandering all over the place for most of the past 6 years. But it’s so much fun to see what each place I go to has to offer. I’ve met so many cool people and awesome Pokémon. I wouldn’t change much. It can get kinda lonely sometimes, but I’ve always got torchic and my other Pokémon.”

Kageyama didn’t answer. 

“So,” Hinata sprang up, “what about you?”

Kageyama’s face darkened as though he held a terrible secret. His brow furrowed as he considered whatever it was that was on his mind. 

“I’m not gonna make fun of you or anything.”

“Shut up, dumbass,” he barked. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. After a moment, he spoke. “There’s someone I want to beat.”

Hinata’s interest was completely piqued. “Like a rival?”

“I don’t know what I’d call him. He was more of a mentor to me.” Kageyama chugged the rest of his soup and wiped his mouth. “But I wanna beat him. No, I need to. I have no idea where he is right now, but I’ll find him eventually.”

“What happened? Did he do something awful?”

“Well... it’s complicated. But he hates me. They all do.”

“They?”

He sighed. “I don’t really... have friends anymore. I drove them off.”

“Why would you do that?!”

“Well, I didn’t mean to, you moron! They couldn’t stand to be around me anymore, much less battle or train with me!” He roared. “The whole town was calling me the King of the Battlefield.”

Hinata stood. “Why are you yelling at me?! Besides, that’s a cool nickname! Why would you be upset about that?!”

He gripped Hinata’s shirt and pulled him up. “Because it’s not a fucking compliment!”

Hinata squirmed out of his grasp. “Alright, alright, jeez! What’s with you?”

Kageyama’s anger subsided as he sat back down. “Because I was bossy. Controlling. I used to do team battles, and I wanted everything to be perfect. I was pretty much fighting alone because no one could keep up with me. And then, they quit on me.”

“Oh...” Hinata sat next to him. “Your mentor, too?”

Kageyama shook his head. “That’s a totally different story. I don’t really understand why. I’m not even sure when it started.”

“Ah,” Hinata sighed, “I get that. People can be really weird sometimes.”

That made Kageyama laugh. Surprised, Hinata turned to him and saw his smile for the first time.

“Yeah. They sure are.”

——

It was quiet for a while. The two settled onto their backs and stared at the sky as torchic fell asleep next to Hinata. She much preferred to be out of her ball whenever she could be. The smoke from their fire trailed into the sky like a strange kind of flag, waving with the wind as it blew across the mountain. It was a bold marker, but so far from any civilization, they were the only two people who could see it. The brilliant embers danced and mingled with the stars above, drifting off into the vast unknown of the sky. They were just like the two of them, Hinata mused, wandering around without much of a concrete goal save for their intense drive and determination. Kageyama burned with the desire to defeat someone despite having no knowledge of where he is. Hinata’s bright passion for adventure drove him so far as to climb a mountain just for the hell of it. They were both freaks, he thought as he laughed gently. Freaks in their own bizarre ways. 

“What’s so funny?” Kageyama asked, disrupting the silence. 

Hinata sat up with a gentle smile growing on his face. “I’m gonna come with you.”

Silence fell once more. Kageyama sat up slowly, his face twisted into a perplexed, almost goofy expression. It made Hinata laugh internally. He could hear how hard the man was thinking. 

“You what?!” Kageyama finally sputtered. 

“I’m coming with you! There’s so many places I haven’t been yet, and I might as well help you find this mentor guy of yours. And beat him, too!” He grinned at a baffled Kageyama, who seemed to be shutting down mentally. “You’re super annoying and a total jerk, but we’re both freaks wandering the region. Maybe an adventure with a grumpy asshole is my calling. And I wanna see you destroy this jerk!”

Kageyama bit his lip, clearly unsure of what to say. He flopped onto his back once again and closed his eyes in concentration. “...Fine. Do whatever you want. Just don’t slow me down.”

Hinata giggled. His journey was about to get a whole lot more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

“What’s this?”

Kageyama set his freshly-washed clothes aside. “What’s what?”

Hinata held up the strange device he spotted in one of the pockets of Kageyama’s bag. “This thing.”

He gawked for a moment, then stomped over and snatched it out of his hand. “You’re a snoopy little shit.”

“Well you left the bag here with all the pockets open! It’s not my fault!”

“Whatever, dumbass.”

“What is it?”

He clicked his tongue. “I have no idea.”

“Hah?”

“I have no clue what the fucking thing is. That guy I told you about- he gave that to me before he left town. Haven’t seen him since.”

“He didn’t even say anything?”

“No. Just a stupid look on his face and ‘I think you’ll need this before we see each other again,’ then he was gone.”

“Wow...” Hinata watched as the man stared hard into the device as though he could crack it open and see its secrets with a sharp enough glare. “I kinda thought it was a TM at first.”

His gaze shifted to him. “A what now?”

“A TM. You know. Those little disc thingies that teach your Pokémon a move.”

Kageyama exhaled sharply. “Never heard of it. What does it even stand for, anyways?”

Reflexively, Hinata scratched his head. “I dunno. I can’t remember.”

“Of course you can’t,” Kageyama muttered under his breath. 

“Well, my friend from back home always wanted to study Pokémon, so he knew a whole bunch of stuff about all kinds of things. But I’ve seen some of his TMs before, and that seems like it’s something else.”

“What?”

“Well...” he stood and pointed at the device in his hands. “See how thick it is? TMs are really thin and they break all the time. And it has some weird-looking grooves in the side I’ve never seen before.” He squinted. “It just looks wrong somehow.” 

Kageyama stared down at it intently. He didn’t speak. 

“Well, anyways, I’m not really sure what it is, but you’ve never tried to figure it out?”

“Well, yeah, I tried! No one knew what the hell it was! I gave up after a couple months!”

Hinata paused. “How long have you had that thing?”

Kageyama kicked the dirt. “Few years. Four or five. I don’t pay that much attention to it anymore.”

Hinata rubbed his chin as Kageyama repacked the gadget in his bag. Suddenly, an idea came to him. “We can ask him!” he declared. 

The other trainer looked vaguely annoyed. “What?”

“My friend! He’s studying to be a professor! We can just call him and ask what it is. He’ll know, he’s really smart!”

He stared at the ground for a moment. “I guess so.”

“Yeah! Let’s find a Pokémon center and call him! I haven’t talked to him in ages.”

“Alright. It’d be nice to finally know what this piece of shit is.” Kageyama’s usual frown softened slightly as he swung the bag onto his back. “Get your crap together. We’ll leave once my clothes dry.” 

——

Hinata was giddy. With his new friend (well, friend? He was kind of a dick), getting back down the mountain would be even easier. They had already scaled through the most precarious area and reached the base, so the rest of the trip would be easy. 

Kageyama suddenly stopped walking, though. 

“Huh? What is it?” He turned to face his new friend (again, friend?) and saw his upturned gaze. He followed the line of sight carefully until he saw it. 

It was a massive Noctowl. 

“What the hell is that doing here? It’s the middle of the day...” Kageyama squinted and blocked the sun with his hand. 

“Woah..” was all Hinata managed to say. 

The bird Pokémon swooped through the air, looping and twisting with the skill of a fighter pilot. Not at all natural behavior, but hypnotic to watch. 

“Hard to tell with our distance, but that looks like a pretty big one,” Kageyama muttered. 

Hinata felt excitement bubble throughout his whole body. He turned to his friend (whatever, friend is close enough) with delight. “Let’s go there.”

“Are you joking? We don’t know-“

Hinata was already in a bold sprint, waving his hand in a wild gesture for Kageyama to follow. 

“Fuck, you’re insufferable!” he shouted after him, but he followed him anyways. 

After a while, Hinata could hear hooting more and more loudly. They were close. 

“Hinata!”

He groaned. “I can hear it! We’re almost there!”

A male voice called out, “Noctowl, return!” 

Hinata stopped. 

“Now what?” Kageyama snapped. 

“It was a trainer,” Hinata sighed. “He ran called it back and away.” 

“Well, wouldn’t you if you heard some crazy bastard running toward you and shouting?”

Hinata whined and slammed his hands onto his face. “Man! I was so excited!”

“What, to catch it? It’s too late for that.”

“No, just to see it up close and meet it! It was so cool!”

Kageyama stared at him blankly. “Ah. Well, still, maybe sprinting to it was a bad idea.”

Hinata kicked his shin. Kageyama yelped. 

——

Four pokeballs, Hinata notes. That’s how many Pokémon Kageyama had with him. 

He placed his own Pokémon into the tray the nurse held out and thanked her. She smiled at them. 

“I’ll bring them back shortly,” she chimed. 

“Thanks,” Kageyama replied. 

The nurse walked off with her chansey following close behind. 

“So, who’s this friend of yours?” Kageyama meandered to the video phone, checking out strangers’ Pokémon as he walked. 

“Oh, Kenma? He’s really shy, but super fun once he gets comfortable with you. And he’s smart.” Hinata dialed his friend’s number as Kageyama sat down behind him. “He’ll know what it is for sure.”

The machine rang a few times. Hinata sat down next to Kageyama and waited. 

After a few moments, a cat-eyed boy’s face popped onto the screen. He was smiling softly. “Shoyo. It’s been a while.”

“Hi Kenma! How’ve you been?”

“Ah, well, I haven’t been doing very much outside of school. I don’t even have much time to play games anymore.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I guess it’s alright, though. Who’s that?”

“Oh, this is Kageyama! I met him near the top of Mt. Pyricius.”

“H-hey,” Kageyama coughed. 

“Huh, I thought Shoyo would be the only one crazy enough to go up that high,” he mused as an abra floated up behind him. 

Kageyama’s eyes widened a bit, but he remained rigid and silent. 

“Abra! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Hinata laughed. “How’s she holding up?”

“Great. I was finally able to teach her psychic. Had to use a TM, though. But now she’s able to defend herself instead of just teleporting away. I doubt she’ll need it, though.”

“Oh! TMs! I have something to ask you!” Hinata nudged Kageyama, who muttered an “ah,” in remembrance and took the machine out of his bag. “Kageyama has this thing, and neither of us knows what it is. I thought it looked like a TM at first, but it just seems too different.”

Kageyama nodded, apparently over his initial nerves. “Hinata said you might know what it was.”

“Oh, that’s an HM.”

“HM?” Hinata echoed. 

“Mm. TM stands for technical machine, but HM means hidden machine. They’re a lot harder to come by, but they’re way more durable than TMs and teach moves that are widely considered useful outside of battle.”

“Do you know which one it is?” Kageyama pressed. 

“Hm, well, I can’t really tell just by looking at it. But if you put it in the trading terminal, I should be able to access it.”

Kageyama stood and placed the HM on the pedestal. “I didn’t know you could do that. Neat.”

Kenma began typing on a keyboard off-camera. “Just a second.” Abra floated above him, watching her trainer curiously.   
“I got it,” he said, “it’s an HM for strength.”

“Woah.” Hinata marveled at it as Kageyama retrieved it from the terminal. 

“That asshole,” Kageyama barked. 

Kenma’s brows pressed together. “Hm?”

“Ah- hahaha, it’s a long story. Someone gave it to him and said he it was something he needed. Or... something like that.” Hinata elbowed Kageyama’s ribs. “You’re not the asshole.”

“Oh.” He clearly seemed annoyed, still. “Well, it’s a good move to use if you’re trying to move heavy things. Boulders or fallen trees, things like that.”

“Got it. Thanks so much, Kenma! I’ll call you later just to chat, promise!”

Kenma’s soft smile returned. “Okay. I’ll see you then, Shoyo.”

The screen cut to black.

Kageyama was clenching the HM in his hands, his eyes a glare at the empty floor before him. “The fucking bastard. He was just mocking me.” He shook his head and shoved the device back into his bag. “This whole time, it was just another way for him to taunt me.”

Hinata hesitated for a moment, but slapped a hand on his back. “All the more reason to kick his ass, though, right?” He grinned at the man, who seemed surprised by his remark. 

Kageyama slowly grinned back at him. “Yeah.”

——

After they checked into a room at the Pokémon center, they still had a few hours of daylight to kill. Kageyama had suggested going into the woods to train, which Hinata insisted they do immediately. He was dying to know what other Pokémon the man had with him. 

“Alright, come on out!” Hinata called as he tossed his pokeballs into the air. One by one, his friends appeared before him: torchic, growlithe, and pidgeotto. 

Wordlessly, Kageyama released his four Pokémon in turn. 

Somehow, they seemed perfect for him. Wartortle greeted his trainer with a cry as a golbat appeared next to him, followed by an Umbreon and an Ekans. 

Hinata squealed unintentionally as he watched the Pokémon greet his own (save for ekans, who slithered up Kageyama and draped itself over his body.) Torchic and umbreon became quick friends and romped about in the grass. Growlithe and wartortle seemed to be having some kind of chat as they investigated each other. Strangest of all was pidgeotto and golbat, who were taking turns gently tapping each other with their wings and squeaking. Hinata wasn’t sure if they were playing, fighting for dominance, or fascinated by their differences in feathers (or lack thereof). He figured it was a combination of all three. Ekans didn’t seem very interested in playing with or even watching the other Pokémon, instead opting to stare at Hinata warily from Kageyama’s shoulder. 

“They certainly seem to like each other,” Kageyama remarked. “I think golbat is trying to figure out how strong your pidgeotto is.” 

“Yeah, something like that.” He laughed. “They’re pretty funny.”

Growlithe and umbreon were chasing each other in circles as Kageyama lifted Ekans from his frame at set it on the ground near his feet. It didn’t seem to happy about it. Hinata found himself a bit nervous as it glared daggers into him.   
“Sorry about that.” He looked at Hinata. “She doesn’t really trust people much.”

“How come?”

“I’m not sure. When I found her, she was really scared of me. It kinda made me wonder if she’d been abandoned or something, but it might just be her personality.” He crouched down and stroked her head. “Doesn’t really matter to me, though. I like her regardless.”

Hinata stared in awe at this new Kageyama, whose eyes were no longer cold, but lit up with warmth and affection for his Pokémon. It made Hinata feel that same fuzzy adoration he had for his own Pokémon. “I guess you really aren’t all that bad,” he said. 

Kageyama glared, his demeanor becoming cold once more. “What’s that supposed to mean, idiot?”

“Nothing, asshole, you’re just maybe not as much of a jerk as I thought.”

Kageyama seemed a bit baffled, but snorted. “Whatever, dumbass.”

It might’ve just been the warm evening, but Hinata thought he saw the tiniest of blushes cross Kageyama’s face. He was amused by the idea that he might’ve embarrassed him, though.


	3. Chapter 3

“You really think he’d be in Pluma Town?”

“No. But it’s just as likely as anywhere else.”

Hinata laughed. “I guess you have a point.”

Pluma Town wasn’t technically very far from where they already were, but a massive obstacle sat in that path: Mt. Pyricius. They had stopped in a small village Hinata had already forgotten the name of, which was at the bottom of the easiest path down the mountain from where they were. Unfortunately, this meant Pluma Town was on almost the complete opposite side of the mountain from where they were. The only logical choice they had was to go around. It was funny, really, how they chose to go there; Kageyama had stared at a map for a few minutes, concentration abundant, before he jabbed his finger at the town and said “there.” 

The pair walked through thick forest, which absolutely brimmed with life. Every few minutes, one of them would spot a wild Pokémon. It became a game after a while: which of them could spot the most Pokémon the fastest? It quickly became apparent to Hinata that they were evenly matched, but he never backed down from a challenge. 

Kageyama pointed at a tree. “Metapod,” he said. “I’m up by two.”

“Shit,” Hinata hissed. He threw his head up in frustration. “I’ll pass you up again in-“

He stopped. 

“What is it?” Kageyama’s eyebrows were bent slightly in that irritated face Hinata was becoming a bit too familiar with. 

He pointed at the sky. “The Noctowl! It just flew above us!”

“Woah. So the trainer must be nearby, right?”

Almost on cue, a bizarre-looking man with black and white hair hooted wildly as he ran at them. 

“FUCK.” Kageyama tripped over his own feet before he could even try to run away. 

The man approached them, the swearing informing him of their presence. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey!” He flashed a wild grin. 

“...Hi,” Hinata choked out. 

Kageyama rose from the dirt, his face a mixture of brown from dirt and red from embarrassment. “You! Who are you!” 

The man whistled, promoting the Noctowl to return to him and perch on his arm. “I’m Bokuto. What about you?” He cocked his head inquisitively, prompting the Noctowl to do the same. It was kind of adorable. 

“I’m Hinata Shoyo! Your Noctowl’s really cool!” He thought quietly that Bokuto looked like an owl himself, but he’d never say that out loud.

He shook Hinata’s hand with great enthusiasm. “I love meeting strangers in the woods who love Pokémon as much as I do!” He glanced at Kageyama. “And you are?”

“Kageyama. Tobio.” Hinata kicked him. “Uh, nice to meet you.” He kicked Hinata back.

Bokuto laughed heartily at them. “You’re something else!” He stroked the Pokémon perched on his arm. “What’re you doing out here? I almost never see people in this area.”

“We’re trying to get to Pluma Town,” Hinata explained. 

“Oh! I know a shortcut!”

Kageyama was shocked by this. “You what? How?”

“Yeah! There’s a little cave that cuts through the mountain. My friends and I were just about to go through! You caught us just in time!”

Hinata felt his energy rising. “Your friends? Do they have cool Pokémon too?” 

“Yeah! We set up camp last night by the entrance! Come with me, I’ll show you!”

Hinata jumped for joy (literally). “Lead the way, Bokuto-san!”

The man pumped his fist. “Yeah!” He hooted a few times and began to trot jovially into the woods. 

Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s wrist and dragged him along, ignoring his half-hearted protests.

——

“Here we are!”

Immediately, Hinata’s eyes were drawn to a golduck and a sneasel sparring by the side of a stream. A (very pretty) man sat nearby in the grass, book in hand. A tent was pitched beside him, as were the remnants of a dying fire. The man looked up from his book and noticed the newcomers immediately. 

Bokuto jogged up to him. “Aghashiii!” He cried. “I found some guys going the same way we are!”

The “Aghashi” in question set his book aside and rose. “Hello. My name is Akaashi. I apologize if Bokuto-san has caused you any trouble.”

“That’s okay!” Hinata shook his hand. “I’m Hinata! He hasn’t been trouble at all, I’m glad we ran into him!”

This didn’t seem to save Bokuto from the heartbreak he felt over Akaashi’s passive insult. He sulked, now seated in the grass. 

Kageyama cleared his throat. “I’m Kageyama. We’re, uh, trying to get to Pluma Town.” He turned to Hinata. “Didn’t he say friends? As in, more than one?”

“We have another person in our group. Give me a moment.” Akaashi picked up his book and whacked the tent with brutal force. A muffled shout rose from the tent.

“Metal,” Kageyama mumbled. 

Hinata snorted. 

A man with black hair even messier than Hinata’s popped his head out of the half-open flap, still laying on the ground. He glared at the sun. 

“Kuroo-san. Its past noon.” Akaashi sat down and resumed his read. 

Kuroo looked up at Hinata and Kageyama. “Yo.”

“H-hi. I’m Hinata. That’s Kageyama.” He jabbed Kageyama’s side. 

“Hinata, you fuck.” He elbowed him right back. The battle began.

“Hey.” He grinned at them, then slid out of the tent fully. He wore nothing but sweatpants. “Kuroo. Good to see some new faces.” 

Both Hinata and Kageyama received a hefty slap on the back, ending their jabbing war. 

“Oh, I see they’re already training. Bright and early!” He walked up to the golduck and sneasel, who each greeted him with a cry. 

“It’s mid-afternoon,” Akaashi told him. 

“Like I said, bright and early.” He looked over at Bokuto. “Bro, you look devastated. Did Akaashi insult you again?”

“Yeah,” Bokuto whined. His smirk betrayed his facade, though.

“I haven’t insulted him. I was just making sure he didn’t bother these two.” He scooted over to Bokuto’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Aw, you still care about me,” he joked. 

He rested his head on the other man’s and pushed him until they almost fell over. Akaashi rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit. 

“Anyways.” Kuroo turned back to Hinata and Kageyama. “What’re you losers doing out here?”

“Pluma Town,” Kageyama repeated. 

“Oh, yup, yup, the cave is way faster. You guys have flashlights?”

“I have a tiny lantern and nine matches,” Hinata answered. “And fire-type pokemon.”

“I have an actual, real, useful flashlight,” Kageyama added.

Kuroo laughed. “Good, good.” He called over the golduck and sneasel. “C’mon, kids, I guess we’re going, now. You want in or out of your balls?”

Both sat down. 

“Out it is. Caves are pretty dope.”

Bokuto stood up. “Where’s absol?”

“Absol?!” Kageyama coughed. 

Akaashi nodded. “My Pokémon. He’s still observing from the trees.”

“ABSOOOLLL!” Bokuto shouted. “COME BAAAAACK!”

Hinata found himself wiggling with excitement. “I’ve never seen one before! They’re so rare! I’m so excited! It’s dark type, right?”

“Yes.”

The absol emerged silently from the forest and appeared before Akaashi. He received some pats from his trainer before turning his attention to the newcomers. Each was given a nod. 

“Nice,” said Hinata and Kageyama simultaneously.

Bokuto put Noctowl back into its pokeball. Hinata figured a cave would be a weird place for it, but he still felt a bit bad about Noctowl being left out. 

“So,” Kuroo droned as he dismantled the tent, “we good?”

Bokuto gave a big thumbs up. “We good!”

“Aight, let’s head out, then!”


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata found the breezy current of air in the cave to be slightly unsettling. It howled gently as the trainers journey through, their footsteps echoing against the walls of stone. He knew it was a normal cave thing, but he couldn’t remember why it happened. Something about air pressure. 

“This cave has been surprisingly tubular,” Kageyama suddenly determined. 

“Tubular is an interesting choice of word, but I suppose it is,” Akaashi replied. “It will start branching into different chasms and pathways soon, though.” 

Hinata pointed the flashlight (which he may have stolen from Kageyama) straight down the tunnel. “It’s really dark.”

“It’s a cave, dumbass,” Kageyama groaned. He made a feeble attempt to snatch the flashlight, but Hinata was plenty fast enough to block him. 

“I know it’s a cave, Stupidyama. I’m still allowed to comment.”

They bickered for a bit about which of them was stupid, occasionally getting sassy comments from Kuroo and Bokuto. Hinata noticed the cave becoming wider and taller as they went, eventually branching off in a few places too small to fit through. The tunnel later ended, opening up into a brilliant chasm. A pool of crystalline water was collected by a crack in the stone which trickled with the clearest water Hinata had ever seen. 

Bokuto pointed to the flowing water. “That’s from the river. Pretty cool, right?”

“So cool,” Hinata whispered. 

“Bad news, guys, come here for a second.” Kuroo pointed his flashlight at a section of the cave wall littered with dozens and dozens of holes. 

“Tunnels?” Kageyama asked. 

“Those look like aron burrows,” Akaashi told him. “We’re going to have to be quiet.”

Bokuto nodded furiously. “Aron stampedes are NOT pleasant. I’ve been in one before, trust me. They’re terrifying,” he whispered. 

“I’m surprised they’re here at all. The last time I came through here, I didn’t see any traces of aron.” Kuroo glanced over the holes again. “Either they just moved here or they spread further up the cave. Either way, they’re gonna be pissed.”

Hinata turned his head. “How come?”

“Aron are very territorial. They don’t like anything entering their territory, and they also hate leaving their territory,” Akaashi explained. “These aron have been recently displaced. They’re bound to be irritable, if not enraged.”

Hinata gulped. “Great.”

“Should we keep going, then? Or would that be too risky?” Kageyama whispered. 

“Uh-uh. No way. Nope.” Bokuto shook his head wildly. “I’ve had one too many stampede experiences.”

“Well, I mean, I highly doubt that anyone would be in danger. Just don’t shout or anything and you should be fine.” Kuroo rested a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder, but he continued to shake his head. “Yeah, it’s impossible for you to keep quiet, isn’t it?” He snickered quietly. 

Akaashi turned to Kageyama and Hinata. “Bokuto-san has some trauma with aron, unfortunately. There used to be none here, but...” he sighed. “I think we’re probably going to turn back.”

“Aw,” Hinata pouted. 

“You two can keep going if you want. Just watch out, don’t raise your voice too much, and respect the aron if you do happen see them.” Akaashi looked back at Bokuto, who seemed a bit jittery. “It’s a single path from here, so you shouldn’t get lost.”

Kuroo pointed a thumb at the way back and cocked an eyebrow. Akaashi nodded. 

“What do you think, Kageyama?” Hinata asked. 

Kageyama considered the matter quietly for a moment. “Let’s do it.”

Hinata was surprised by his conviction. “Really?”

“Yeah. Let’s fuckin’ do it. It’s not far.” His mouth was pressed into a line. 

“Are you scared?” Hinata whispered. 

Kageyama looked incredibly offended, but the vague worry never left his face. Hinata decided to just drop it.

“We’ll see you around sometime,” Kuroo said to them, giving each a pat on the shoulder. 

“Yeah! I hope we can battle later!” Bokuto grinned. Hinata noted his paleness, though. 

“We’ll be heading to the same place. It’ll probably just take another day,” Akaashi reminded them. He smiled gently at them and gave a little wave. 

Damn, he was pretty. 

“Yeah. See you,” Kageyama spoke lowly. 

Hinata gave a big wave as the trio began to venture back, leaving Hinata with Kageyama to go the rest of the way by themselves.

——

“Are we there yet?” Hinata moaned. 

“Obviously fucking not!” Kageyama hissed. 

Hinata stuck out his tongue and shone the flashlight in Kageyama’s face. 

He yelped. “Don’t do that!” He whisper-shouted. 

“Do what? This?” He flashed it again. 

“Gah, fuck, my eyes! You- you-“ He bit his lip. “You inconvenience of a person!”

“It took a lot of brainpower to think of that, huh?” He chortled. 

“I’m gonna kick your ass!” He elbowed Hinata’s stomach. 

“GWAH,” Hinata shouted. He dropped to the floor. 

Kageyama stopped walking. 

“What?” Hinata stood again. “What, you asshole?”

He slapped a hand over the shorter’s mouth. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” he wheezed, barely audible. 

Oh, right. 

“Well it’s not my fault!” Hinata breathed angrily. “You’re the one that hit me!”

“You didn’t have to scream, dumbass!” 

“I barely screamed! And that’s a totally normal response to a blow in the stomach!”

“Fuck you!”

“Oh, fuck you!”

“Whatever, let’s just keep going. I won’t hit you if you just keep your mouth shut.” He successfully snatched the flashlight out of Hinata’s hands and pointed to forward. 

Unfortunately, they were too late to get away after the commotion. An aron sat in their path, growling. 

“Fuck.” Kageyama slowly started backing away. 

“Wait, Kageyama, it’s just one. We’re fine!” Hinata approached the little Pokémon. 

“You absolute fucking walnut brain, why the shit would you do that?!” Kageyama whispered as aggressively as he could. 

“Hey little dude. What’s up?”

The Aron’s forehead became a bright white. 

“Woah!” Hinata crouched down. “Are you evolving?”

“HINATA, BACK THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE ANGRY RUNT!” Kageyama coughed out. 

“Why?”

The aron slammed its head into hinata, sending him flying backwards slightly. The landed roughly on the cave floor, the remaining momentum launching him into a double-backwards somersault. 

“Nuts,” Hinata wheezed. 

The aron barked at them and growled again. 

“Have you never seen iron head?!” Kageyama took a step back and pulled out a pokeball. “Not once?!”

Hinata groaned. 

He shook his head. “Unbelievable.” He tossed the pokeball. “Wartortle, go!”

Wartortle appeared before the tiny aron, grinning at its new foe. 

“Alright, we have to battle quietly. You think you can do that?”

He nodded. 

“Great. Use bubble!”

Wartortle launched a frenzy of bubbles at the aron faster than it could dodge. They very briefly collected into a foamy trap that aron struggled to break out of before bursting and damaging it. The pops were a bit loud, but there was really no such thing as a quiet Pokémon battle, so that was probably one of the better outcomes of an attack. 

The aron shook the water off its body and retaliated with a mud-slap attack. It had surprising power, enough that wartortle fell back from the impact. 

“Get ‘em, Kageyama! Wartortle, you got this!” Hinata quietly cheered after regaining his breath. 

“Water gun! But gently, maybe!”

He shot a weak stream of water at the little rock-type, which, surprisingly, seemed very affected by it. It was super-effective, but even so, the attack was powered down enough that Hinata assumed there wouldn’t be much damage. Still, the aron toppled over, rolling back weakly before rising again. 

“Quickly! Aqua tail! Finish it off!”

Wartortle complied happily and slammed its tail into aron before it could even attack again. Hinata was amazed. Truly, it was no match for Kageyama’s wartortle (even if it had just sent him flying with an iron head.) Wartortle trusted its trainer completely and obeyed without a second thought.

Kageyama was amazing, he thought, but quickly shook it out of his head. 

“Great!”

The aron was weak, but hadn’t fainted just yet. It headbutted wartortle with all its might. 

“Okay, bite, then!”

Wartortle did as told, and that was the end for aron. It lay on the ground, unconscious. 

“Nice!” Hinata clapped softly. 

“Not done yet,” Kageyama told him. He pulled a pokeball out of his pocket. 

“Woah, are you gonna catch it?!”

“That’s one ballsy aron.” He smirked darkly. “I like it.” He threw the pokeball and bit his lip as the aron entered it. 

It started to wobble. 

One. 

Two. 

Three. 

Click!

Kageyama pulled a fist. “Hell yeah!” He cheered. 

A bit too loudly. 

“Uh, Kageyama...” Hinata heard footsteps behind him. He turned, dreading the worst. 

A mob of aron approached them, growling quietly and glaring. There were dozens of them. 

“What?” Kageyama retrieved his new Pokémon and sent wartortle back into his ball.

“We gotta go. We gotta go right now.” He sat up, grabbed Kageyama, and began to run. “Right the fuck now!”

“Oh, holy piss!” Kageyama sprinted with him. 

The aron chased right after them.


	5. Chapter 5

“Fuck,” Hinata coughed, his knees giving out and falling into the grass. 

“They’ve got little stump legs! How can they move that fast with shitty little nubs for feet?!” Kageyama gripped his shirt and fanned air in and out. 

Both took a moment to fully collect themselves. The aron didn’t let up until they saw the light of the sun at the exit. 

Finally, Hinata managed to stand back up. “So where are we now?”

“Huh?” Kageyama wiped the remaining sweat from his head. “We’re at Pluma Town.”

“Uh... no... we definitely aren’t.”

Kageyama stood. “We should be right by the town!” He quickly searched the area around them, but the only thing in sight was forest. “What the fuck?!”

“Well, I mean, a cave leading straight into the town would be too convenient, right? It’s nearby, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I guess, but...”

“What? You’re tired?”

“S-so what if I am?!” He sat down again. “We got chased through a fucking cave!”

“Yeah! Exactly! I’m tired too!”

“Ugh.” Kageyama flopped over completely. “We’ve got sleeping bags. We could just... camp. Again.”

Hinata groaned. He collapsed into the grass next to Kageyama and stared at the tree a few feet away from him. “I kinda just wanna take a nap right now.”

“That’s a bad idea,” he said, but he made no effort to get up.

Hinata whined and closed his eyes briefly. Maybe they should have turned around with the others. He wasn’t even sure if they were miles from town or just a few hundred feet away. Did it even matter?

He opened his eyes again to see the color grey. Weird. His gaze traveled upward-

A rhydon was staring down at him. 

“Kageyama,” he whispered. 

“What, dumbass?” He rolled over to look at him, but immediately realized the problem. 

The rhydon grunted and lifted both of them over it’s shoulders. Hinata screamed. 

“Oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck,” Kageyama chanted as he flailed. 

Hinata tried to wiggle out of its grasp, but to no avail. The rhydon was too powerful for either of them to overcome. Kageyama even tried punching the giant rock Pokémon, but it was completely unaffected and began to walk off into the woods. 

“We’re gonna die,” Hinata cried. “I thought we were safe, but we’re gonna die!”

They both gave up after a while and let the rhydon carry them off into the woods. 

——

It was when the rhydon deposited them in front of a beautiful cabin that Hinata realized that he was not, in fact, about to die. 

A beautiful, big pond glimmered behind the gorgeously-built wooden house. The flowers surrounding the area filled the air with a slight sweetness that drew a variety of little grass and bug type Pokémon. It was serene and relaxing like no other place he’d been before. 

“Wow,” Kageyama whispered. 

The rhydon grunted at them, then walked up the steps to the door, where it roared boldly. The sound startled several nearby Pokémon, who scampered off into the woods. 

A moment of silence passed before a handsome, dark-haired man opened the door. His sharp jaw was accentuated by the white v-neck he wore. “What is it, rhydon?” he spoke with a deep voice. 

The rhydon stepped aside to reveal the man behind him, still on the ground and faces littered with surprise and confusion. 

The man stared at them, expressionless, but soon took a step back into the cabin. “Suga!” he called. 

Another man, slightly shorter with silver hair, came up behind him. “What is it?” The first man stepped aside, and he looked out the door. Upon seeing the two dumbfounded men sat at his doorstep, he broke into a smile and stepped out to greet them. “Hi! My name is Sugawara Koushi.” He shook both their hands. 

Hinata finally found his voice. “He...llo?”

“This is Daichi. We run the Pokémon nursery here.”

Daichi gave a little wave. 

“Now... Did rhydon bring you here?”

Kageyama nodded. “Carried us here, yeah.”

Suga laughed cheerily. “It’s been a while since he’s done that! Oh dear, I’m so sorry if it was any trouble for you. Here, why don’t you come inside?” He extended a hand to Hinata. “We can explain, but I’d feel bad if I didn’t give you some tea and rest. Not to be rude, but you two look like you ran a marathon.”

“Oh, we ran a fucking marathon, alright,” Kageyama muttered. 

Hinata took the hand and stood, followed shortly by Kageyama. Suga led them inside and showed them to a lounge. 

Hinata and Kageyama immediately dove for the couch, but arrived at the same time, causing their heads to slam together. The plan of taking over the couch backfired for both of them. Kageyama groaned in pain as Hinata whined a feeble “oww.”

Daichi’s mouth fell open.

Suga thought it was absolutely hilarious and began to belly-laugh. He wiped a tear away and snorted, then began to leave the room. “I’ll make the tea,” he wheezed. 

Daichi cleared his throat. “Sorry about him. He, uh, seems like he’s sweet and pure, but he’s really got a bit of a dark side.” He sat down in the armchair adjacent to the sofa. “And I’m sorry about rhydon, too. He has a kind soul, I assure you. He’s always bringing injured Pokémon home and guiding lost and weak travelers here. Even if it’s sometimes against their will.” He smiled. “We also have kind of an inn here, so you’re welcome to stay if you need to. It’s on the house, considering how you got here and all.”

“We’d love that!” Hinata exclaimed. 

Kageyama nodded. “We’re exhausted.”

“Yeah, we came through that cave in the mountain, and the guys we were with turned around because we saw aron burrows, but they said we could keep going without worrying, but we got a little too loud and all these aron came charging at us, like WRAAHH, and we ran the rest of the way until we got to the end, and we were so tired, but then rhydon found us!”

“Slow down, you’ll choke on your spit,” Kageyama told him. 

Hinata glared at him and poured. 

Daichi chuckled. “Well, I’m glad it all turned out okay. Were you trying to get to Pluma Town?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Kageyama asked. 

“That’s where most people coming from the cave are trying to go. We’ve had plenty of guests that stop here on the way, since the cabin is so close to the cave entrance.”

Hinata nodded. “That makes sense.”

Suga came back into the room with four cups of tea and a big rhydon in tow. The placed the tray on the coffee table and squeezed himself into the armchair with daichi. He seemed vaguely amused by it, but tried to look annoyed. Hinata and Kageyama both took the opportunity to grab a drink.

“So, what are you guys planning?” Suga asked them. 

Hinata looked at Kageyama. Their eyes met, and their weird personalities clicked almost psychically. 

(What is our plan, anyways?)

(Why are you asking me? Neither of us know.)

(Are we gonna stay here? They’re offering.)

(Should we though? We just met them.)

(But I’m so tired, Kageyama.)

(I know, I am too! I’m just saying!)

(They seem nice! And we can defend ourselves anyways!)

(Fine, whatever, you shit.)

Kageyama turned to Suga and Daichi, who now had his arm around the other. “Yeah. Okay. If you’ve got a room or two, we’ll stay here.”

Suga grinned. “We’ll take good care of you, I promise!”

“That makes it sound weird, Suga.” Daichi smiled at him. 

“It’s not weird! They’re our guests!” Suga pouted. 

Kageyama interrupted them. “Are you guys, like... married? Or am I totally wrong?”

Hinata give him a disapproving look. A weird thing to ask, he thought. 

Suga, however, laughed again. “You don’t have much of a filter, do you? Either of you.” He gave Daichi a kiss on the cheek. “We aren’t married, but we’re engaged.”

Daichi just looked embarrassed. 

“Oh. Cool.”

Hinata pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Would you like a nursery tour?” Suga offered. 

Hinata pipped up. “Ooh! Yes!”

“That sounds interesting,” Kageyama said. He seemed thankful for the change in topic. Of course, he’d never admit it, but he was probably embarrassed about asking such a strange question. 

“Great! Let’s get going then!”

——

Daichi and Suga were incredible, Hinata thought. They had a room full of eggs of numerous kinds and incubators set up all over. Hinata hadn’t seen that many eggs in one place before. Colors and patterns were organized into several different areas and sections meticulously, apparently mostly by Suga. 

There was, however, one egg that was sitting alone in the front on the room. It was a soft, soothing baby blue and dotted with white spots. 

When Hinata had asked Suga why it was by itself, he answered “Well, we don’t know what’s in that one. Most of the eggs are surrendered by trainers and breeders who can’t or won’t take care of them. This one’s a bit of a special case.” 

Apparently, it had been found in a broken incubation device on the side of a road outside Pluma Town. Kageyama shook his head at this news.

“You don’t have any idea of what it could be? None at all?” Hinata pressed. 

Suga sighed. “No, not really. I mean, it’s probably a blue Pokémon, but that isn’t much to go off of. It’s a little late on hatching, but we know it will. It’s still growing in there.”

It saddened Hinata to hear that the egg could have stopped growing or even broken because of someone’s carelessness, but he was glad it was found and saved. 

The guests then were shown to the outside around the back. Hinata found himself confused. There wasn’t much of anything he could see at first. That is, until the tiniest poliwag he’d ever seen waddled up to him

Hinata squealed at the tiny creature. It was so fucking cute. 

“This is where most of the baby Pokémon stay,” Daichi explained. “Most of the time, we release them into the Wild after they’re strong enough to live on their own. A couple of them belong to other trainers, though.”

“We look after others’ Pokémon too, kind of like a daycare,” Suga added. 

“Wow,” Hinata said to himself. He crouched down to the little baby in front of him. “Hey! I’m Hinata!”

The poliwag squeaked at him and wagged its tail.

“You’re so precious,” Hinata cooed. He scooped the tiny Pokémon into his hands, where it fit snugly. He looked up at Kageyama, beaming. The other man smiled softly. 

“That little guy hatched last week,” Suga told them. 

Hinata lifted his hands and offered the baby to Kageyama. His eyes widened slightly, but he made a cup with his own hands and held it out. With a brush of hands, he gently placed it in Kageyama’s scooped fingers. He noticed the taller’s slight blush and chuckled. It was incredibly cute, he certainly agreed. 

“S-so how do you keep them from wandering off?” Kageyama his his face with the poliwag, who bounced its face against his and rebounded onto its back repeatedly. 

They both laughed. 

“That certainly is a struggle, but it’s handled pretty well by Suga’s Pokémon.”

Suga nodded. “Come here, guys!” He called. 

A pretty little swablu fluttered over and landed gracefully on his head, followed shortly by an aipom that climbed to his shoulder. Suga gave both of them a quick rub on the head. 

At this moment, poliwag let out a pathetic bubble attack, splashing Kageyama in the nose. He sneezed. 

“They might not look like it, but they’re great caretakers. Though, they really take after Suga in that they have a sense of humor.”

“They’re perfect,” Suga laughed. 

“Cool! So is rhydon yours, Daichi?” Hinata stood back up.

“Yeah. He’s a great helper, too. We’re a dream team!” Daichi puffed his chest out dramatically, prompting Suga to snort. 

“Can I let my Pokémon out? It’s such a nice day, and I know they’d love to play!” Hinata bounced between his feet.

“Of course!” Daichi told him. 

Hinata released each of his Pokémon joyously. “You too, Kageyama!”

Kageyama set the baby poliwag on the ground. “But what about aron? I haven’t had a chance to meet with it yet.”

“Well, do that after the tour!” Hinata laughed as torchic bounced around Daichi and Suga. 

“Well, the tour is pretty much over. We’ve got some underwater Pokémon in the pond. But other than that, you’ve seen all of it.” Suga gave torchic a little pat on the head and smiled as swablu flew off to the lake. “It’s about time for Daichi and I to feed the water Pokémon, now that I mention it. We should go. Feel free to hang out here!” Aipom jumped off the trainer, who gave it a quick scratch behind the ear. 

Both gave the couple a wave as they headed to the shore, where a lapras was clearly waiting for its meal. 

“Okay, so why not give it a shot now?” Hinata gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll help if you need it.”

Kageyama seemed torn. He silently flattened his mouth and closed his eyes. Growlithe put a paw on his leg, which aipom saw and mimicked with a snicker. Kageyama’s eyebrow twitched. 

Finally, he decided. “Fine. I’ll see how it goes.”

He sent out each of his Pokémon before pulling out his newest catch. He seemed a bit worried, but released aron into the world. Immedietly, it growled at wartortle, who talked to it for a moment. It seemed to calm down after the exchange. 

“Introduce yourself, Kageyama!”

“Ugh, fine! You’re so weird,” he muttered as he crouched. “Hey. Sorry about fighting you.”

It stared at him blankly. 

“Uh, so I’m your trainer, Kageyama. You probably already figured that out, though.”

“He’s really neat,” Hinata said. 

Aron barked at him. 

“Oh, uh, sorry? Are you a girl?”

“Ahr,” it answered. 

“Well, there you go! We’re already learning about her!”

Kageyama held his hand out to her, but was met with another blank stare. A skitty and a pichu skittered behind her, but she showed no reaction to anything.

“Maybe she just doesn’t get what you’re trying to do,” Hinata supplied. 

“Well, I’m not gonna just go straight to petting her. She’s not used to me yet. I don’t want to scare her.”

Hinata was a bit surprised. He watched as aron tilted her head back and forth inquisitively and Kageyama remained completely still. “You really are a nice guy deep down, huh?”

His face became red. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Hinata shrugged. “I dunno. I guess a tiny part of me was expecting you not to care. But now I think you’re a decent guy for sure.” He grinned. “But you’re still a jerk.”

Kageyama shrank. “You’re just an idiot.” 

Aron finally decided to touch her foot to Kageyama’s palm. It was kind of like an extended high-five. He bubbled over with joy that spilled onto his face like Hinata had never seen before. The most awkward yet endearing smile crept across his face. Hinata had to suppress his laugh as the suddenly giddy man gave aron the tiniest little pet on the side of her head. She seemed surprised, but tolerated the sudden affection like a grumpy dog would tolerate a toddler. It was a massive improvement from the aggressive beginning. 

It took a lot of fresh-off-the-tree berries and quiet staring, but she eventually let Kageyama stroke her like a cat as the sun descended behind the horizon. 

——

Hinata was never one to have trouble sleeping. He could pass out in an instant regardless of where he was. As a kid, he was certainly a deep and fast sleeper, but years of traveling and sleeping in a wide variety of environments made him a champion of falling asleep. Of course, all that was thrown out the window if he was too excited or nervous or thinking too hard about something. 

This was one of those times. 

Hinata wasn’t sure why, but he just couldn’t stop thinking about the mysterious egg that he saw while Suga and Daichi were showing them around. He was simultaneously worried about and fascinated by whatever was within the blue shell. Perhaps it was just the mystery of the whole thing; Hinata was highly curious by nature. Or, maybe, it was the strange affinity he felt with that pattern and coloring decorating the enigma. He couldn’t close his eyes for long before his rampant curiosity overtook his desire for sleep. 

He eventually decided to head downstairs and check out the egg again. He just couldn’t resist the urge to investigate and, hopefully, quell his overactive thoughts so he could sleep. 

He tiptoed down the stairs so as to not disturb anyone. It was difficult in the dark, but once he turned the corner at the base of the stairs, he noticed a light was still on. Before he could even become consciously intrigued, he heard Suga’s soft voice.

“You really can ask me whatever you like. I’m difficult to offend.”

Hinata knew he probably shouldn’t listen to whatever conversation was taking place, but he couldn’t resist the temptation. 

“I really don’t mean to be rude or anything,” Kageyama’s voice spoke, “and if you don’t wanna answer or-“

“Kageyama.”

It was quiet for a brief moment. A small shuffling noise carried through the hallway to Hinata’s ears. 

“How did you know you like men?”

Yeah, Hinata definitely shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on this. 

Another quiet second passed. 

“I’m not really sure if I ever had some kind of big, grand revelation, you know? I was always attracted to men and women, but I never really fell in love. I had dumb little crushes on girls here and there, but I never had any serious feelings for anyone. That changed after I met Daichi, though. I had never really realized that my little feelings of affection for guys were actually crushes until I noticed that I was head over heels for him. It all just kinda clicked at that point.”

“Did you ever date men, then? Before Daichi, I mean.”

“I had only dated a few women. Again, I never really fell in love, though. I think if my life had gone differently, if I hadn’t met him or he didn’t exist, I might have fallen in love with a woman. But I met Daichi, and he’s the one I fell for. I’m very glad that I did.”

“How did you know it was different?”

“Hm?”

“How... how do those feelings feel different from what you thought they were?”

“I never really thought much about that... I thought my heart would beat faster just because I thought he was cool, or my nervousness was from my admiration of him as a person, or I couldn’t stop staring at him because I was jealous of his looks or protective of him as a friend or even because I thought I hated him. I just didn’t really understand that those weren’t the reasons. Looking back, I can easily tell that I was wrong, but I just had no idea at the time.”

“Is it like that for thinking someone is attractive? Like, did you think that you thought someone was beautiful just because you were, or did you know you were attracted to that?”

“Oh, I definitely didn’t know. Anyone can decide what they think is pretty without being attracted to whatever it is. A painting, a tree, a sunset... those are all objectively beautiful, but I’m not attracted to them, obviously. The same thing can apply to people. Like, I think you’re handsome from an objective view, but I’m not attracted to you. Daichi is very handsome, and I can feel it when I look at him how attracted I am to him. It’s not the same feeling, but it’s hard to explain. I just... know. It’s not the thought of ‘oh, he’s hot, I wanna fuck him,’ but for me, it’s more of a breathtaking kind of feeling that makes me flutter.”

“Ah.”

“And then, on top of that, I love him so much as a person that I see him to be even more beautiful. I think that’s where most of my attraction to him comes from. If he were the same body but a terrible personality, I wouldn’t feel much. I think attraction is just something that’s a bit different for everyone. You may have to decide for yourself what that means, but there’s no wrong answer.”

Again, there was a moment of quiet. 

“I’m scared.” Kageyama suddenly sounded choked and upset. “I think I’ve known for a long time, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

“Hey, it’s alright. Everyone’s experiences are different. You aren’t alone in being scared. I know Daichi struggled with himself for years.”

“I’ve always been telling myself that being gay is strange. My parents asked me about when I’d find a girlfriend I’d stay with for more than a few weeks all the time. I didn’t know what to tell them. I didn’t know anyone else like me, who never had a girlfriend they didn’t love.” He sounded like he was crying at that point. 

“You’ve struggled a lot. I’m sorry that it’s been so hard for you.”

“I wish I didn’t feel afraid expressing it. I wish I’d noticed who I was sooner.”

“You can only wish for the future, Kageyama. You can’t change the past, but you can change the present and the future. Keep your head up. You’ve had such difficulty, but now you’ve gotten past it. You made it. And you can learn what it is you’re feeling, I guarantee it.”

“I already know what it is I’m feeling. I just have to accept it.”

“I believe in you. I know you can. And I’m glad that you came to talk to me about it.”

Hinata decided to just go back upstairs. The guilt he felt from listening in was exhausting him even more than he already was. There wasn’t much point in going to see the egg. He had something else entirely wracking in his brain, now, anyways. 

——

Hinata barely slept. He ended up vomiting over the guilt in the middle of the night, which woke a very confused Kageyama. He gave him some antacids and went back to bed without a word. Not even any insults or irritated questions. 

Hinata decided that he’d tell him what he’d heard after Kageyama became more comfortable about it. Now wasn’t the time. He would never want to make someone feel outed. He wasn’t the one that Kageyama trusted to tell.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning wasn’t kind to Hinata that day. He normally was able to leap out of bed like a trained fucking ballerina, but he lacked the necessary energy. Not sleeping combined with nonstop thinking and intense guilt made him weary. He considered the irony of his stay at the nursery making him more exhausted. If it weren’t causing him such distress, he’d laugh. 

He slumped out of the bed and trudged his way to the bathroom. Hinata, no matter how stupidly tired he was, would never pass up an opportunity for a shower. That was a luxury. Living in the wilderness meant bathing in rivers and streams whenever he happened to find one. It's thanks to the pre-existing wildness of his hair that those river baths couldn't tame his locks. 

It's why it secretly pissed him off that Kageyama’s hair was so damn perfect all the time. 

In the end, he probably showered for too long. He was taking his sweet time, belting out every song that came into his head as he relished the warm water he hadn’t felt in so long. Rivers were always cold, so the steam rising around him granted him more joy that it would most other people. 

By the time he stepped out, the room was totally filled with steam. Each of the mirrors were fogged up completely. Hinata took the opportunity to draw little faces on them before undergoing his typical morning routine. 

After slapping on some clothes and tossing the towel over his shoulder, he opened the door to find Kageyama leaning against the wall outside. He had his arms crossed and looked terribly annoyed. 

“You missed breakfast, dumbass,” Kageyama grumbled. 

Hinata made an odd squeaking sound he was barely aware had come from his throat. 

“Are you just gonna stand there?”

“Oh! Yeah! Uh!” He wrapped the towel in his fingers. “Did you- did you want to, uh, use it? The bathroom?” He counted two voice cracks. God dammit. 

Kageyama stared at him for a moment, squinting when Hinata gulped. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What? Me? There’s- no, there’s nothing wrong. What do you mean?”

He clicked his tongue and stood upright, glaring at the shorter man before him. “Bullshit.”

Hinata felt so incredibly small. His knees shook slightly, as though Kageyama’s royal presence could physically force him down. 

“You threw up last night. Now you look like a stupid fucking fawn. You don’t have to tell me about it, but don’t lie and say you’re okay.” He uncrossed his arms. “At least tell the truth about that.”

“I- I don’t mean to lie or anything- it’s just- fuck, I’m such an idiot.” Hinata ran his hands wildly through his freshly-done hair, but it still looked about the same. 

“Yeah, I already knew that.”

Somehow, Hinata wasn’t hurt by those words. On the surface, they were insulting and brash, but they were spoken with softness and a strange sort of affection. He found Kageyama’s statement endearing, even. Coming from anyone else, Hinata would be pissed, but he could somehow tell that Kageyama meant well. Maybe he was genuinely concerned for him. Maybe he really trusted him. 

Hinata felt sick again. 

“Are you just gonna stare at me?” Kageyama was getting flustered. “What the fuck, dude? Where did you go in that weird brain of yours?”

“Oh- sorry! I’m sorry!”

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Look, again, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna. I’m just- it’s weird to see you like this, so-“

“I heard you talking with Sugawara last night!”

Hinata bit his lip. He felt like shit. 

Kageyama blinked a few times. “That’s it?”

It was Hinata’s turn to be baffled. His jaw dropped slightly. 

“Yeah, I already knew that, moron. You’re not very good at hiding. You’re also the least subtle person I’ve ever met.”

Hinata could feel tears beginning to prick at his eyes. “Kageyama, I am so sorrry. I couldn’t help myself. I shouldn’t have invaded your privacy like that. I’m so sorry- it wasn’t for me to hear, I’m such an asshole-“

“Shit, Hinata, calm down.” He put his hands on his shoulders and bent down slightly. “You were probably gonna find out anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I’m kinda upset, but-“ He looked away. “I didn’t expect you to feel so bad about it. And I... I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

Hinata couldn’t stop tears from falling. Kageyama’s words were the last thing he’d expected to hear. 

“I think you’re incredibly stupid, but-“ He began to blush slightly. “I’m only gonna say this once, but I think you’re too nice for your own good. And I’m glad you feel so guilty because that means you actually give a shit about me.”

“Of course I give a shit about you!” Hinata wiped his tears. “I think you’re a fucking dumb, irritating, hard to read, very cool guy! And I’m pissed with myself for doing something shitty like that and destroying any chance of you trusting me!”

Kageyama was taken aback. He licked his lips and leaned back against the wall. “Hinata. I’m kinda mad. But I trust you.” His lip trembled slightly. “I’m just- I thought you’d think-“ he took a deep breath. “I thought you might think I’m gross. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.” A single tear fell from his eye, but Kageyama brushed it away instantly. “I haven’t met anyone else like me that I could talk to about this. Just- don’t do that again.”

“What? I’d never- you know I like guys too, right?”

The raw shock in Kageyama’s expression would have made Hinata laugh if the conversation weren’t so serious. 

“How the hell would I have known that?!” he finally burst out. 

“I don’t know, okay! You have a point! I’m still a jerk, but I get it! I know how much it sucks when someone finds out before you’re ready!”

It was quiet for a moment. Then Kageyama laughed. 

“What?”

“This whole thing is too fucking dramatic. I just-“ he cleared his throat. “We can forget the bad parts of this. I’m really not even that angry with you, especially now.”

Hinata smiled. “Nah, I’m still a dick. But I appreciate that.” 

Kageyama began to walk off, nodding for him to come with him. 

He was glad Kageyama had confronted him. It felt much better to actually talk about it, and he felt like they’d grown a lot closer through just that one conversation. He snickered. “I guess we’re bros, now.”

Kageyama whacked him in the back of the head. 

——

“You really seem fond of that egg, Hinata.”

Suga’s voice startled him a bit. He turned away from the mystery egg to face the man that somehow snuck up behind him. 

I swear my awareness is better than that, he thought to himself as torchic hopped off his lap to greet the man.

“Sorry to startle you,” Suga laughed. “You just looked so focused.”

“Ah, yeah, sometimes I get fixated on stuff. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize!” He sat beside Hinata and smiled warmly. “I think it’s nice you have such an interest in the eggs and Pokémon. Especially this little mystery here. It didn’t get much attention before.”

“Yeah,” Hinata agreed. He looked back at it. “I think it’s sick that someone left it there like that. If I were taking care of it, I would never do something so awful. I’d take care of it, ‘cause eventually, it’d hatch into a new friend.”

Suga’s eyes widened slightly. “Well-“

“Suga! Kiyoko and Yachi are back!” Daichi’s voice suddenly called. 

“Oh! They’re back! Come, come with me, this is perfect!” He excitedly waved to him and ran out to the front room, followed by a very confused Hinata and a tiny torchic. 

Sat on the sofa were two women who appeared to be opposites; one looked calm and dignified, the other bright and cheerful. Kageyama stood by Daichi, leaning on the armchair. 

“Ah, Hinata. This is Yachi-” Daichi gestured to the smaller, more energetic girl. 

“Hi!” She waved at him and smiled. 

“-and this is is Kiyoko.”

The more reserved woman nodded and smiled at him. “Hello.”

“We were just talking about how you two are going to head over to Pluma Town. That’s where they live,” Daichi explained. 

“We’ve just returned from a brief trip,” Kiyoko added. “You’re welcome to come with us after we receive our Pokémon from these two.”

“I’ll go fetch them,” Suga cheered as he went outside. 

“So you’re also trainers?” Hinata asked. 

“Yeah! You too?” Yachi clasped her hands together. “That’s great! It’s always fun to meet new trainers!”

“And him, too!” He pointed at Kageyama. 

“Uh, yeah.” He shifted a bit. “Same.”

“He’s Kageyama. Don’t mind his weirdness.” Hinata chuckled as his friend glared daggers into him. 

“Is this your torchic?” Kiyoko asked as she stared down at the little fire-type, who bounced excitedly between the two new people. 

“Mm hm! She’s the first Pokémon I ever got.”

Yachi giggled at the sight of torchic chirping a little song at them. “She’s very friendly.” She gave the little Pokémon a rub on the head. “And very cute!”

Kiyoko smiled. “She’s obviously been given a lot of love. You must be a very kind trainer.”

Hinata grinned bashfully. “Aw, shucks.”

“Here! I got ‘em!” Suga barged into the door, panting. “Azurill thought we were playing chase. I never thought snatching him would be so hard.”

Yachi laughed. “Sorry about that.”

Suga handed three nest balls to her. “Pichu, skitty, and azurill. And then...” he pulled out a dive ball and a luxury ball and turned to Kiyoko. “Here’s Lapras and Milotic.” 

“They’ve all been really well behaved. Lapras was always begging for attention, though, so I’ll bet she’s glad to be with you again,” Daichi told them.

“Thank you so much! Here, I’ve got your payment somewhere around here...” Yachi dug through her pockets. She was clearly struggling. 

“Here,” Kiyoko laughed as she handed money to Suga. She winked at Yachi, who grew pink with embarrassment. 

“Oh, I meant to ask,” Daichi said. “What’s your business in Pluma Town, anyway?”

“Well...” Kageyama thought about it for a moment. “It’s not anything super concrete. I’m looking for someone, but I have no idea where he is. I thought Pluma Town might be a good start.”

“What’s his name?” Yachi asked. “We might know if he lives there.”

“His name is Oikawa.”

Hinata nodded. So that’s what his name is, he thought. 

“By any chance... are you talking about Oikawa Tooru?” Suga asked. 

Kageyama’s eyes widened slightly. “Yeah! You know him?”

Both Daichi and Suga nodded. 

“Do- do you know where he could be?”

“We haven’t actually seen him for a while, now,” Daichi sighed. “And it’s not like he lives around here or anything. As far as I know, he’s wandering around, too.”

“I remember him saying he wanted to beat all the independent gym leaders. The last time we saw him, he had several badges. That might’ve been.. what, three, four months ago?”

“Something like that,” Daichi agreed. 

“Oh...” Kageyama deflated. 

“If you give us your contact information, we can let you know if we hear anything.” Suga grabbed a notepad and pen on the table and handed them to Kageyama. 

“Really?” Kageyama scribbled his info on the paper. “...thank you.”

“No need to thank me, I still feel really bad about the whole thing with rhydon. And besides, it’ll probably be a difficult search.”

Daichi laughed. “If there’s one thing I know about Oikawa, it’s that he’s totally wild.” 

Suga nodded. “He’s a strange guy. We’ll be sure to let you know if we see those two anywhere.”

Hinata paused. “Those two?”

“Is there someone with him?” Kageyama asked. 

“Oh, yeah, he’s running around with his boyfriend.” Suga scratched his head. “What was his name again? Izuki? I...wari?”

“Iwaizumi,” Daichi supplied. 

Kageyama’s mouth dropped open. “THAT’S his BOYFRIEND?!”

“You know him too, huh?” Hinata put his hands on his hips. 

“They were best friends back in my hometown. They knew each other since they were practically babies. Both of them just sorta up and left without a word at about the same time, but I didn’t think...” Kageyama rested his hand on his chin, his brain almost visibly reeling. 

“Wow.” Hinata wondered if this information was genuinely secret or if Kageyama was too dense to connect the obvious dots. It was hard to tell. 

“We should probably be going soon,” Kiyoko told them. 

“Oh- yeah, if you wouldn’t mind, we’ll tag along!” Hinata looked to Kageyama, who was still deep in thought. 

“Well, I hope you find him! He’s a wily bastard,” Daichi chuckled. 

The four gathered by the door and waved their goodbyes. Daichi held the door open for them, and they set off outside once again. 

After a few steps into the woods, though, a voice called out to them. 

“Hinata, wait!” Suga cried. 

They stopped. Had Hinata forgotten something?

The man approached Hinata, the blue egg in his arms. “Here, I want you to take this.”

“The egg? Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. I think you’ll take good care of it. It’s nice to see someone as fascinated by eggs as I am, even if it’s just with one.” He held out the incubator. “It’s probably about ready to hatch, so be ready for that, but...” he smiled as Hinata took the incubator and held it carefully. “Well, I guess I’m just glad that I found someone who will love it. You seem quite attached to it already.”

“Thank you so much!” Hinata hugged the cylindrical device and grinned at the giver. 

“No, thank you. I already have my hands full!” He giggled impishly and waved goodbye once again. 

They resumed their walk, now with an additional load. 

“I can’t believe you just got a fucking egg,” Kageyama told him. 

“I can’t either!”

——

“We’re here,” Kiyoko informed them. 

“See? That didn’t take so long!” Yachi skipped in front of the small ‘welcome’ sign and posed. “Welcome to Pluma Town!”

“Alright!” Hinata began to trot forward, but slowly came to a stop. “Wait, now what?”

Kageyama shrugged. 

“Well, Yachi and I are definitely going home, but you might want to check the gym. That’s where the dedicated trainers gather.”

“That actually sounds promising. Thanks,” Kageyama told her. 

“If you’re gonna stick around here for a while, we live in the little house next to the pokemart!” Yachi pointed down a road. “It’s that way. Come find us if you need anything!” She and Kiyoko began to trot off.

“Thank you guys so much!” Hinata held the incubator close with one arm as he waved at the women. 

“The gym leader here is... fire-type oriented, right?” Kageyama suddenly asked. 

“I have no idea. I didn’t even know there was a gym here.”

Kageyama sighed. “You’re useless, you know that?”

Hinata stuck out his tongue.


	7. Chapter 7

“I think this is it.”

Hinata stopped and backtracked to the building Kageyama was staring at. The structure was rather plain; it blended in with the buildings nearby with how ordinary it seemed. “It says Karasuno Gym, not Pluma Gym or something like that. It might be, yknow, a GYM gym. With treadmills and whatnot.”

“Nah. This place is massive.”

“So are buildings where dozens of people work out at a time.”

Kageyama pouted his lip slightly. “YOU’RE a building people work out in,” he muttered. 

Was that really an insult? Kageyama was getting sloppy. 

“People work out in me? If you’re trying to say I fuck a lot, you’d be wrong, but I appreciate you thinking so.”

Kageyama choked on his own spit and blushed furiously. “You fucking-“

Hinata ran into the building before Kageyama could say anything more. 

The lobby was just as plain-looking as the outside. It seemed very lived-in, perhaps even slightly worn. The wood of the floor and walls were slightly aged, and most of the furniture was gently damaged. The only detail that caught Hinata’s attention was the lack of people. 

“Hello?” He called. 

Kageyama stepped in after him. “Huh. No one‘s here?”

“I guess not.”

He approached the unattended front desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a gym with a front desk like this.” Various papers were scattered about messily. Whoever used it was probably equally as disorganized. 

“Maybe you were... no, this must be it.”

Hinata snickered. “Were you about to say that I was right?”

“No, I’m saying-“

A sudden banging, crashing noise against the back wall startled both men, enough so that Hinata fell on his ass and yelped. 

“What the living fuck was that,” Kageyama growled. 

“Whatever it is,” Hinata pointed at the small door, “it must’ve come from there.”

“Should we... open it?”

Hinata snapped his neck to look at him. “You do it.”

“Why me, you little shit?”

“Whatever it was might be scared of your stupid grumpy face and leave us alone.”

“I can’t believe you’d say that. By that logic, you should open it because you’re so annoying it might run away and-“

“Just open the fucking door, you raisin!”

“God, fine!” Kageyama grabbed the handle, but paused. He swallowed thickly. 

“Well?!”

“I’m doing it, moron!” He took a deep breath, let it out, and twisted the handle. 

It didn’t budge. 

“The fuck?” Kageyama giggled the handle and tried once more, but to no avail. 

“Maybe it’s a push door. Push it.”

“I was about to do that anyway,” Kageyama hissed at him. 

However, it seemed the door was just totally locked. 

“Piss,” Kageyama muttered. 

“Is there, like, a code or something?”

“I don’t see a damn keypad.”

Hinata was getting annoyed. “Maybe we just have to knock.”

Another crashing noise resounded through the door, quieter this time. Kageyama flinched. 

Hinata stared. “Yeah, I’m knocking.”

“Hinata, what the FUCK-“

He shoved the taller man aside and knocked loudly on the door. “Hello? Please don’t kill us?” he called. 

After a few seconds, a man with short, blond hair pulled back by hair ties and one pierced ear opened the door. He seemed confused and stared at Hinata with his mouth slightly agape. 

“Hi,” Hinata blurted. 

The man’s eyebrows tightened. “Can I... help you?”

Kageyama nudged his way back in front of the door. “Is this the gym? Like, the Pokémon gym? Not a workout gym?”

“Yes? You should talk to-“ he glanced at the empty desk and his expression relaxed. “Oh. He’s not here.” He sighed. “Where’d he run off to now?”

“Uh, who?” Hinata asked, nudging Kageyama back. 

“We have a manager of sorts. I guess he’s off doing something. I wish he’d just tell me when he leaves, but his brain runs a mile a second.” He shrugged. “Whatever. He only runs off if it’s something important. Anyways, I’m Ukai, the gym leader here.” He smiled at them. “And who the hell are you two?”

“I’m Kageyama. This is Hinata.”

“I can introduce myself, you know.”

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter. We’re here on business. Sort of.” Kageyama scratched his head. “I guess business?”

Ukai laughed heartily. “You guys are weird.” He stepped aside and gestured into the room. “Come in, come in.”

Hinata gasped. The room was essentially a standard gymnasium converted into Pokémon stadium. Not the most impressive one he’d ever seen, not by any means, but the spacious, well-lit room felt oddly homey. He found himself suddenly full of excited energy. 

Across the room stood a man sporting a very closely-shaven haircut. He waved at the newcomers. On their end of the battlefield was a particularly tall, glasses-wearing man who stared at them coldly. Next to him were a shy-looking boy with freckles and a furret that sat in his lap. Another (quite buff) man was sitting at the sidelines with an arcanine sitting behind him. Hinata didn’t notice him at first, but one more man poked his head out from behind the arcanine. His hair was spiked bizarrely with an untouched piece of bleached hair in the front. 

The battlefield itself was a bit scuffed and worn, but that just added to the comforting atmosphere of the room. A hitmonchan and an ampharos stood in the middle of it, their heads turned to see what was going on. 

“We were just in the middle of a practice match. These guys all train here.” He made a T with his hands. “Would you guys mind taking a pause? We have some newcomers here. This is Kageyama and Hinata.”

“Yeah, no prob!” The shaved-head guy jogged up to them, followed by the hitmonchan and an electrode that Hinata hadn’t noticed at first. “My name’s Tanaka! Good to meet ya!”

Hinata shook his hand. “Hi! Your Pokémon are really cool!”

Tanaka laughed and slapped him on the back. “I like you already!”

The man with the extremely strange spiked hair hopped up, and Hinata noticed just how short he was. He might’ve been shorter than Hinata, and that was really saying something. 

“I’m Nishinoya Yuu! You can call me Noya, though.” He grinned at them as a jolteon trotted up behind him and greeted the new trainers with a yip. 

“Wow! A jolteon!” Hinata gave the creature a scratch behind its ear.

“You’d better believe it!” He pointed at the sour-looking man. “That’s Tsukishima. He’s kind of a smartass, but we love him.”

“Hey!” Tsukishima hissed with offense. He threw a glare at Noya. 

Tanaka laughed again. 

The freckled boy stood up, his furret in his arms. “I’m Yamaguchi! Tsukki’s not that bad.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima sighed. 

Yamaguchi smiled sheepishly. 

The (kind of scary-looking) man and the arcanine came next. “Hey. My name’s Asahi,” he spoke gently. 

“He looks like he could kill you, but he’s a big softie!” Nishinoya interjected. 

“Well, when you put it like that...” Asahi laughed nervously. 

A little clefairy peeked out from arcanine’s thick mane and stared at Hinata. 

“Clefairy?! Is- is this your clefairy? I haven’t seen one in person before!” Kageyama approached the fairy Pokémon, slowing when it seemed nervous. 

“Ah, yeah. She’s pretty shy, but very clever.” Asahi gave her a pat on the head. 

“Wow,” Hinata sighed happily as he marveled at everyone’s Pokémon. “Tsukishima, is the ampharos yours?”

“Yeah. And the grovyle.” He pointed at the ceiling. 

“Huh?” Hinata looked up, only to see a grovyle staring right back down at him as it clung to the wall above the door. “Woah! Hi there!”

It croaked at him. 

“Well, now that all you kids are friends and everything, what is the ‘business’ you mentioned?” Ukai asked. 

“Oh! Uh, I’m searching for someone. His name’s Oikawa, he’s apparently traveling around with his boyfriend, he’s tall, kind of a piece of shit, cocky as hell,” Kageyama explained. 

“Oh! I remember him!” Asahi answered. 

“Really?” Hinata stroked the arcanine’s thick furry mane absentmindedly. 

“Yeah.” Ukai crosses his arms. “He came through here a while ago. Totally wiped the floor with my ass. And all their asses, too.” He gestured at the trainers. “It was more of a gym breeze than a gym challenge for him.”

“He’s that good?” Hinata wondered aloud. 

“That sounds about right,” Kageyama agreed. 

“I mean, the dude had a gyarados out the whole time while he fought with me. I specialize in fire types, but even so, that was crazy.” Ukai leaned against the wall. “Anyways, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to help you much. I have no idea where he went, and that was a few months ago.”

Kageyama sighed. “Yeah.”

“Well, actually...” Asahi stepped forward. “I do know where they went next. I heard him talking about it with the guy he was with.”

Kageyama lit up. “Really? Where?”

“They said their next stop would be swamp village... uh, I think it was southwest of here.”

“Yuck, you mean Weeping Swamp??” Nishinoya crossed his arms. “I still can’t get all the mud out of my shit.”

“Yikes.” Hinata glanced at Kageyama, who looked undeterred. “I’ve been in the Weeping Swamp before. Never the village, though. But uh...”

“That’s where we’re gonna go,” Kageyama told him matter-of-fact-ly.

“Kageyama, I’m totally with you, but we are not leaving today.”

“Why not?”

Hinata groaned. “You ever walk in mud before? And it’s just slightly harder than walking normally? Well, imagine doing that for days. It’s the most exhausting thing ever.”

“We were just climbing a mountain not too long ago.”

“Yeah. I know. The swamp is harder.”

Most of the trainers (sans Tsukkishima) in the room nodded. 

“Yeah, if you kids are going there, you’ll need a lot of supplies and equipment.” Ukai gestured at the door. “The guy who’s supposed to be at the desk actually lived there for a few years. There’s no roads or anything.”

Kageyama didn’t look like he was doing much, but Hinata knew that he was using all his energy on thinking. He could see it in the way his eyes squinted slowly and opened up again. He wasn’t seriously reconsidering, was he? Hinata just wanted to make sure he knew it’d be difficult, not scare him out of going. Then again, Kageyama was stubborn as hell and dead set on finding Oikawa. 

Poor guy’s gonna bust a fuse, he thought. 

“Hey, I totally think we should go.” Hinata gave him a pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about that. I’m right here with you. Don’t let scary stories about the swamp spook you.”

“You say that like I’m afraid of swamp demons or something,” he growled. “We’re going. I’m trying to decide when we should leave for the best travel efficiency.”

Well, Hinata’s guess was close. Kind of. 

“Well, definitely not today. You should probably do some shopping first. And some praying.” Ukai laughed at his own remark. 

“Praying?” Hinata asked. 

“Pray it doesn’t rain while you’re in the middle of traveling. You’ll fucking die.”

Hinata gulped. 

Ukai laughed and slapped him gently on the back. “Nah, I’m just messing with you. I mean, it’s frustrating as hell, but not deadly if you’re not a fucking idiot.”

Nishinoya nodded. “When it rains there, it floods there. It’s just a pain.”

“Oh. Okay.”

A sudden slam of a door startled Hinata so badly he nearly tripped on his own feet. 

“Everyone! Kiyoko and Yachi are back!” a slightly disheveled, bespectacled man panted. 

“Oh, yeah? Nice. You won’t have to run around like a little bitch anymore, Takeda,” Ukai laughed. 

The cheers from the others were promptly ignored by the now-sour man. He approached Hinata and Kageyama, his breath catching up to him at last. “Are you guys here for a gym battle?”

“No,” Kageyama told him. 

“Yes,” Hinata interjected. 

“Oh dear,” Takeda muttered.

“Hah! They’re looking for someone, but that’s all pretty much settled.” Ukai stretched his arms. “Now what was that about a gym battle?”

“Hold on, do Kiyoko and Yachi work here or something?” Kageyama asked. 

“Uh, yeah,” Nishinoya told them as though it were obvious. “This place is run by a power couple and assisted by a power couple.”

Hinata blinked. “Run by a power couple?”

He pointed at Ukai and Takeda, who were now standing next to each other looking vaguely couple-like. 

“Do all the gays naturally convene in the same area? Is that a thing that happens?” Kageyama whispered to himself. 

Nishinoya clearly heard him and snorted as he collapsed onto the floor in a full-on belly laugh. 

Kageyama was blushing furiously. 

“Awful small-minded of you to assume that by the presence of a mere four gay people,” Tsukishima droned. 

“What? No! I mean- there were some other guys we met, and I- it’s- fuck you!” 

Hinata had never seen him this flustered before. It was almost enough to make him collapse on the ground with Nishinoya, who continued to snort. 

“Ah- well- don’t feel bad! It’s true that Pluma Town is very lgbt friendly, so a lot of us do come here,” Asahi nervously reassured him. 

“Us? Oh, you too?” Kageyama seemed genuinely surprised. 

From the ground, Nishinoya wheezed, “Theres more than four- almost all of us are queer! He knew! He could sense it!”

“Wow...” Kageyama muttered. 

“Alright, kids, shut the hell up. I’ve apparently got a battle with the shorty.” Ukai grinned and held up an ultra ball. “Am I right?”

Hinata squealed. 

——

“-and his Camerupt got all mad and he told it to use lava plume and it did and it was like BWAAAHHHSSHH and pidgeotto was like WHOOSH and got around it and then later it fainted from a twister attack like WHEWEWEWOOOSH and he was so shocked about it and then he sent macargo out-“

“Hinata! PLEASE! I was THERE!”

“I know, I know, but I’m so excited!” He grinned as he stared at the new badge on his jacket. “I’ve never actually done so well at a gym battle before! And this badge looks the coolest!” He compared it to the worn-down and old badge he won at a grass-type gym and the dull grey one he got from a normal-type gym. This one really was the coolest. It was, quite literally, fire. 

Kageyama grabbed a hammock and rain-shield combo box from the shelf, probably just in case, and set it in his basket. “It is cooler that those other ones, I guess.”

“Yeah! So macargo was using a bunch of rock moves and I had to switch out pidgeotto cause that would’ve been bad if it went on longer and then growlithe was struggling too but then I said ‘use reversal!’ And he was so cool like WHAM and totally destroyed macargo so Ukai used torkoal next-“

“I’m getting these tall rubber boots. Which color do you want?”

Hinata could’ve sworn he was the tiniest of smiles, perhaps even a moment of soft affection in his expression, but he didn’t dwell on that. 

“Hm... those orange ones. So Torkoal was waaaaay harder than magmar to beat because he kept using protect and it was so hard to get a hit in and when growlithe did it didn’t do much because it used withdraw, like, six times right off the bat and even though growlithe packs a mean fire fang, it wasn’t going too well. So I had him use flamethrower like GWAAAHH and it worked and I kept using special attacks because it was more effective even if special attack isn’t growlithe’s strong suit-“

“Canned beans or canned corn, which would be better?”

“Definitely beans. But make sure they’re not those mushy ones. So we finally managed to get a bunch of hits in and growlithe was FWAHHing all over torkoal and we weakened it down enough that it finally fainted! And then-“

——

The Pokémon center was significantly less comfortable than Suga and Daichi’s cabin. Or the last Pokémon center they stayed at. Or any Pokémon center Hinata had ever been to.

The two men slept on flimsy, worn futons in a tiny room. Their bags and belongings were piled in an unoccupied corner haphazardly, while almost all of the remaining space was taken up by the futons themselves. Hinata and Kageyama shared a single, very large, extremely thin blanket that probably would’ve covered the entire floor three times over. The whole setup was confusing and much more cramped that it probably needed to be. 

Earlier, when he asked nurse Joy why the center looked so shitty (he didn’t actually word it like that), she told them that it was under some renovations and their equipment and space were limited for the time being. 

Thus, they ended up in the worst room either of them had ever seen. 

And now Hinata couldn’t sleep. 

Somehow, he was both too hot and too cold no matter how he placed the crappy space heater they were given. The blanket was scratchy and rough. Despite the softness of the futons, they proved to be completely useless and he couldn’t find any position that wouldn’t make his back hurt. He might as well have been laying directly on the wood floor. 

“Kageyama?” He whispered. 

No response. 

He sighed and sat up, gazing out of the tiny window. All he could see was the trunk of a tree growing directly outside. 

“Kageyama,” he whispered more insistently. He was about to go crazy.

“I’m tryin to fall asleep, idiot, whadda you wan?!” Kageyama grumbled through the pathetically soft pillow. 

“Well, I don’t know. I can’t sleep.”

“Nerrh cn I.”

“What?”

Kageyama lifted his head. “Neither can I.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell over the room again. Kageyama rested himself back on his elbows and stared at Hinata, waiting for him to say something. 

“If you’re not gonna say anything, I’m gonna try to sleep.”

Hinata gulped. “I don’t know, okay? My brain’s too muddy.”

“Uh...” Kageyama clearly wasn’t sure what to do. “What are you... thinking...? About?”

“Have you never just stayed up late talking to someone?”

“Never. Not once.”

Hinata tilted his head. “Really?”

“Even when I had people training with me, I was never really good enough ‘friends’ with anyone to have a sleepover or anything. So no. Never.”

“I thought you said you had friends before.”

“They were more like good acquaintances, not best friends.” He flopped onto his back. “I don’t even really know what ‘friend’ is supposed to mean.”

“Well, friends... care about each other. And they’re always there to back each other up, no matter what, y’know?”

It was quiet again for a moment. 

“Are... we friends?”

Hinata blinked a few times. “What?”

“Never mind,” Kageyama groaned. 

“Kageyama, of course we’re friends. Did you think we weren’t?”

“I don’t know, okay! Shut up!”

“Hey.” Hinata leaned over Kageyama’s face. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we were friends.”

The man stared back at him, eyes wide. He swallowed. 

“I thought we already had a deep conversation,” Hinata continued. 

“Well- I don’t- I never thought about it.”

“Well then, what do you think of me?”

They had a bit of a staring contest before Kageyama looked away. “You’re... stupid. But you’re really nice. And even if you’re annoying, sometimes you’re funny.” A faint blush grew over his face. “And I’m... not sure what I’d be doing if you hadn’t come with me. It’s- Uh- I’mgladyou’rehere.”

Hinata really hadn’t expected such a genuine answer. His face grew a bit hot. He hoped we wasn’t blushing. 

“So- so what?” Kageyama’s face got a little bit redder. 

Hinata grinned down at him. “Well, I think you’re an idiot, too. But you’re also really cool. And even though you sometimes act like a jerk, I know you’re a good guy deep down. So I’m glad I’m here, too.”

Kageyama was fully red, even on his ears. 

“So that means we’re friends, okay? Don’t you ever doubt that.” He flopped back onto his futon. “Are we all cleared up now?”

Kageyama said nothing, but nodded slightly. 

Hinata exhaled sharply and smiled. “Good.”


	8. Chapter 8

“My egg~ my egg~ my tiny baby egg~ I don’t know what’s inside, but I can’t wait to meet you, egg~!”

“Hinata, you’ve been singing to that egg for, like, 10 minutes.”

He frowned. “Yeah. What else am I gonna do while I’m polishing it? Recite the dictionary?”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, but he had nothing more to say. 

It was about 7 AM. Neither of them slept very well, but they figured they should head out that morning regardless. The tiny park was perfect for preparing their things and letting their Pokémon out for a while.

“Torchic, what do you think about swamps?” He asked his little Pokémon. 

Torchic froze and suddenly looked upset. 

“Well that answers that,” Hinata muttered. 

Aron was being surprisingly helpful in packing their incredible amount of supplies into just two bags. She was putting things in as Kageyama handed them to her in some kind of specific order Hinata didn’t understand. Apart from that, none of the Pokémon were helping and instead decided to enjoy their time at the park. Hinata didn’t blame them; he would be frolicking with them if he wasn’t taking care of an egg. 

“You said you’ve been there before. What kinds of Pokémon live there?

“A lot of grass, ground, and water types. And bug types, too. I remember seeing a lot of yanma and wooper.” He gave his egg a little kiss before placing it gently back into the incubator. 

“Huh. I guess that makes sense.”

Hinata hopped off the bench and walked over to Kageyama, then sat back down in the grass. “I’m a little worried about torchic and growlithe. They’re really not made for swamps. I just hope I won’t have to keep them cooped up in their balls too much.”

“Mm. I mean, you might, but I think they’d prefer that to you sending them out into murky water.”

Hinata chuckled. 

“Alright, we’ve got Pokémon food, people food, plenty of clothes, foraging tools, that includes a knife and some bags, some potions- antidotes too, right aron?”

Aron barked affirmatively. 

“Okay, good. Extra rubber boots, our sleeping bags, the emergency hammock and rain-shield, gloves, extra gloves, the tiniest power generator we could find, flashlights just in case, the fire starter, some matches, backup pokeballs, a first aid kit, cooking equipment, soap, water-“

“Everything in the entire world, yeah, I get it! I know I said we should prepare, but this is a lot!”

They both stared at the bulky bags. They were probably fit for doomsday preppers. 

Kageyama pouted. “If something goes wrong, you’ll be glad I went overboard.”

Aron decided it was time to be done and approached golbat and ekans, who were napping together under the shade of a tree. She snuggled up between them and closed her eyes. 

Hinata couldn’t help but smile at the sight. “They got really close, huh?”

“Yeah. I think aron blended in perfectly with my other Pokémon. It’s like she’s been with us forever.”

Umbreon and wartortle were wrestling a ways away, but Hinata figured they were good friends with aron, too. “I’m glad it went well,” Hinata told him. 

“Yeah. Me too.”

Hinata stood up. “I guess it’s... time to go, then.”

“Yeah. You ready?”

Hinata grinned. “You know I am. I’m always- wait!” 

“What?!”

A quiet, oddly familiar sound resonated from the distance: “Hey, hey, hey!”

Hinata turned. “Was that... Bokuto!”

Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi were all approaching them. 

“Oh. They really did get here a day later,” Kageyama remarked. 

——

“So you’re hoping to follow his trail, then? Even if you’re far behind?” Akaashi asked. 

“That’s the plan. Nothing else to go off of, but at least we have a lead now.”

Hinata nodded. “If we can follow all the places he’s been, we’re gonna find him for sure!”

“Not bad, not bad,” Kuroo snickered. “You sound like shitty detectives.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Kageyama grumbled. 

“Oh! We never shared contact info!” Bokuto suddenly hooted. He pulled a notepad from Akaashi’s bag (who seemed used to that) and wrote several lines of info for each of them, then handed it to Hinata. “Give us a ring if you need anything!” He handed the notepad to the shorter man. 

Hinata excitedly derailed his own information (and Kageyama’s) and gave it back. “Yeah! And it’d be cool if you’d let us know if you heard anything!”

“Heck yeah, little dude!”

——

Their goodbye to the women was rather brief, but Hinata gathered another two names in his contact book. It made him happy to look at all the new friends he was making written all over the pages. Maybe that made him a sap, but Hinata didn’t really care. 

Kiyoko had warned them to watch for signs of rain. When both men had no idea what those signs would be, she and Yachi told them all sorts of ways to predict coming weather, from using froth in soup to estimate the air pressure to watching their Pokémons’ behavior. He was only listening for about 75% of the lesson (not that they were boring; he just had no attention span), but Hinata still felt he learned a lot. 

And with that, they were off. But that was a day ago. 

When Hinata woke up the next morning, he ate a quick breakfast with Kageyama, packed up their little camp, and set off once again. He thought it was going to be a solid day of walking, uneventful and normal. Boredom didn’t sit well with him. He was grateful he had a companion with him, because the last time he went swamp-trudging, he was alone. Sure, Hinata was rarely bored out in the wild, but the swamp became tiring quickly. 

Thank fuck the ground was relatively dry. Stomping through mud would take twice as long. 

“Have you seen any Pokémon yet?” Kageyama suddenly asked. 

“Not really. Just a few yanma and a gloom since this morning.”

“Well, here’s something you might wanna see.”

Hinata looked up from the dirt we was staring at and saw a small gang of marshtomp eating berries on a pile of branches and fallen trees. 

“Holy shit!” Hinata quietly tiptoed closer and hid behind a tree. “There’s... four, five, six of them!”

“Oh! You see the one behind the closest to us?” Kageyama crept up behind Hinata and hid with him. “It’s got a mudkip next to it!”

“Really? I don’t see it.”

Kageyama held Hinata’s shoulder with one hand and pointed with the other. “Right there. You see it?”

Kageyama's hand was surprisingly warm. 

“Oh- there! There it is!” Kageyama whispered excitedly. 

Sure enough, a marshtomp shifted to reveal a little mudkip chowing down on a pecha berry. 

“Oh wow! D’you think it’s that marshtomp’s kid?”

“I have no idea,” Kageyama whispered. 

It took Kageyama a second to realize that he was practically flat against Hinata’s back, but once he did, he startled and backed off. 

“Kageyama! Stay still! They’ll see you!”

“I know that, you moron!” He hissed. 

The largest marshtomp looked to the sky and cried out to the group. The squad of marshtomp seemed to be finished eating and began to wander off after a few minutes, the little mudkip close behind. Part of Hinata had wanted to catch one of them, but he knew that would be reckless. The other part of him was overjoyed to see wild marshtomp behaving naturally, so he ended up pretty satisfied with the non-encounter. 

"Hinata... Isn't it getting kind of dark?" 

Hinata looked at his watch. It was 3:26 PM. "I guess so. Why?" 

"Were you listening to Kiyoko yesterday?" 

"...Mostly."

"She said to watch for the swamp suddenly getting darker? That we wouldn't be able to see the sky because of all the trees? So we need to pay attention-"

A large drop of water fell on Hinata’s head, splattering onto Kageyama’s nose. He sneezed. 

“Oh fuck,” Hinata squeaked. 

They stared at each other in mutual panic. 

“Maybe we still have time to set up the tent,” Hinata suggested. 

A couple more dollops of water the trees collected fell gracelessly around them. 

“Right,” Kageyama laughed nervously, “yeah, it’ll be fine, the rain has barely started.”

Drops began to splash with exponentially growing frequency. 

“Let’s... get out the tent. Kageyama. It’s- well. It’s fine.”

Downpour.


	9. Chapter 9

Under different circumstances, the hammock they bought would have been incredibly helpful. It had a very quick setup for both the hammock itself and the rain shield. There was even a spot to hang their bags in an area protected from the elements. It even accounted for rain falling at an angle because of wind by making drapes that fastened to the sides of the hammock. Truly, it was a fascinating piece of equipment. 

The problem was they only bought one. 

Hinata was to stranger to difficult sleeping situations; he once slept on a crumbly stone flat with nothing but his underwear and a parka after losing all his equipment in a river. He could handle the elements. Outdoor living made him an expert. This, however, was the most difficult sleeping arrangement he’d ever faced. 

Kageyama was sprawled on his side, back to Hinata’s, as they watched the rain fall silently. It wasn’t even evening yet. They would have to sit there together for hours, then sleep there for hours, then possibly wait there for conditions to improve the next morning... for hours. Hinata was furiously angry with himself for zoning out during Kiyoko and Yachi’s lesson on how not to drown in a swamp like a fucking buffoon. They might have had time to set up the tent- their awesome, expensive, waterproof tent- if Hinata had noticed the coming rain sooner. At least Kageyama noticed it at all. 

He uncurled one of his legs, allowing it to stretch out. The hammock rocked slightly with the movement. It was going to be a long night. Evening. Whatever. 

——

“I have to pee.”

Hinata rolled over and sat up. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I have to pee,” Kageyama repeated. 

“You’re joking, right?”

“No.”

“You can’t just- I don’t know, hold it for a while?”

“I have to pee. What part of that suggests I can hold it?”

“Well you absolutely can’t pee right under the hammock.”

“I know that, you dumbass.”

The rain didn’t make the odd silence after feel less, well, silent. 

“If you have to pee, then pee,” Hinata groaned. 

“I can’t.”

“Why can’t you piss, Kageyama? Just- just go somewhere over there, unzip your pants, pee, and come back.”

“It’s raining.”

“I know it’s fucking raining! Just go piss!”

“I’ll get wet.”

“You’ll get wet if you piss your pants, too! You brought this up! Just go pee!”

Abruptly, Kageyama shot up. “If I get wet, I’ll then come back in here with that wetness, and then you’ll get wet, and we’ll both be wet!”

“Oh my god,” he nearly sobbed. 

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh my god!” he wailed. 

“You have the poncho. It’s- Uh, it’s in your bag.”

“You could have just asked me for the fucking poncho in the first place!” 

“Shut up!”

“Just go pee!” He threw the poncho into his face and flopped over again. 

——

Hinata could feel his teeth chattering. No, he could feel his entire body shaking, teeth to toes. The night of rain was even colder than he would’ve ever expected. 

With the tarp hung over the hammock, they were in almost total darkness. The sound of harsh rain pierced through the air and practically cracked Hinata’s skull open. He was so tired. It almost hurt. 

Kageyama began to shuffle and rifle through his bag. Apparently, he wasn’t sleeping either. 

“Hinata.”

“Huh?” He rolled over. 

Without another word, Kageyama draped a thin blanket over both of them and wrapped an arm around Hinata’s back, pulling him closer. 

“...Kageyama?”

“Shut up. You’re freezing.”

Hinata, somehow, didn’t feel like protesting. Kageyama was so warm and the blanket was just thick enough to make him stop shivering. He felt oddly safe. 

“...Thanks.”

“Mm.”

——

Hinata woke up to find his limbs completely entangled with Kageyama’s. Not surprising, but nonetheless alarming. 

The second thing he noticed was the lack of rain. 

Like jenga, he removed each of his arms and legs carefully from under Kageyama and rolled as gently as he could off of the hammock, landing unceremoniously on the mud below with an “Oof” that involuntarily flew out of him. Knowing his ass was now totally brown, he sighed and waddled to the nearest tree to rub his pants against. There wouldn’t be any better way to clean it that rub it off on the bark. 

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Rubbing my ass on a tree.”

“...Why?”

“I have mud all over me! What else am I gonna do?!”

Kageyama shook his head and rolled himself off of the cloth. He was much less fortunate than Hinata and slapped down face-first in the mossy goop. 

Hinata, of course, wheezed. 

“Do you want me to kill you? Is that it?” He spat some dirt out of his mouth. 

Hinata couldn’t even answer and convulsed hard enough for him to fall over, coating his entire back with more mud. 

“You little shit,” Kageyama growled. 

“You look like The Swamp Thing!”

A handful of mud hit Hinata in the face. He kept laughing.


	10. Chapter 10

“This is disgusting,” Hinata whined. 

“You’re disgusting. Just shut up and walk.”

They had been fortunate enough for the past week to find some fallen trees and rocks and various other surfaces to walk on in order to stay out of the water- which, at their current location, came up to Hinata’s knees. It was murky and disgusting, and now they had to walk through it. 

“Hinata, you’re already covered in mud. It doesn’t matter. Come on.”

Hinata took a step forward, the sludgy water swirling viscously around him in a way that made Hinata want to gag. It smelled strange, yet he couldn’t place the scent at all, much less describe it. It just smelled... like swamp. 

We’re almost there, he told himself. Just a bit of wading and then a small hill to climb and then we’re there and that’s that. 

“I think this is the worst day of my life,” he said aloud. 

Kageyama didn’t look at him, but Hinata could tell he was rolling his eyes. 

He clutched the incubator under his arm as he took another few, especially sticky steps. That’s when it started shaking. Hinata gasped. 

This time, Kageyama turned around. “What?”

The egg was wiggling. 

“Oh my god, how much time do we have left before we get there? I can’t let it hatch in a gross place like this.”

“I don’t know, ten minutes?”

“...Let’s run.”

Hinata began widely shuffling through the water with the grace of a psyduck, holding the incubator close to his chest. 

“I thought you didn’t want to go through the water!” Kageyama shouted as he tried to keep up. 

“Just shut up and run!”

——

It was when they reached the base of the hill the town sat on that the incubator automatically popped open to make room for the egg to hatch. Hinata thanked every deity he could think of as he scuttled up the hill to a spot dry enough that it didn’t give under his feet. He briefly considered the fact that this town had a naturally-formed moat surrounding it, making it an insane place to live, but his attention quickly shifted to the brilliant blueish-white glow radiating from the egg. 

Kageyama finally caught up to him, panting feebly, “How the fuck can you run so fast with short little legs?”

Hinata marveled at the egg, now splitting across the surface and revealing even more light. He couldn’t look away, but it was too bright to keep staring at. The shell chipped away until the blinding light was freed completely, morphing slowly into a roundish shape. Hinata gently lifted the ball of light into his arms. 

The light gradually faded and revealed a serene spheal. 

“Holy shit,” Hinata breathed. 

The spheal opened its eyes and stared up at Hinata with innocent curiosity. 

“It’s... so incredible,” Kageyama told him. 

Hinata felt tears welling up in his eyes. “I have a baby!”

Kageyama chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Congratulations.”

——

“Sir? Excuse me, sir!” Hinata shouted as he spotted a figure moving through the trees. 

The figure stopped and turned, revealing a man with a wrinkled face and deep smile lines. His hands were calloused and rough-looking. “Who, me?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you happen to live in the Weeping Village?” Hinata asked, his new Pokémon sleeping soundly in his arms. 

The man laughed heartily. “Well, I don’t know where the heck else I’d live out here. You boys heading over there?”

Kageyama nodded. “It’s been a rough trip.”

“Well, I certainly can tell. Not to be rude, but you both look like marshtomps. And not in a good way.”

Hinata felt slightly embarrassed. He’d totally forgotten about the mud he was caked in. 

“Tell you what,” the old man put his hands on his hips and stated, “I’ll give you a ride there. I was about to head back anyway. Already finished my work.”

“That would be great!” Hinata grinned. 

Kageyama seemed confused. “What’s your work? And- hold on, what are you going to give us a ride on?”

Again, the man laughed. “Well, I guess I’d call myself a tropius wrangler. It’d be more accurate to say I take care of the sick and watch over the rest, but that should answer both your questions.”

The man made a strange whistling noise between his fingers, initially having no effect. The silence, however, was eventually broken by the blowing wind and flapping of wings. Gracefully, a tropius descended beside the old man and cried at him, flaunting its leafy wings with a final fanning. 

“Wow,” was all Kageyama managed to say. 

“This is one of the few places tropius live, so it’s important they’re taken good care of,” the man explained as he climbed onto its back. “Actually, I believe this is the only place where the tropius have silkier leaves like this and slightly shorter, greener fruit instead of the, y’know, plantain-looking things.”

“Oh, so these are ripe, then? I thought they weren’t mature yet.” Kageyama approached the tropius and cautiously inspected the bunch of fruit adorning its neck. 

Hinata hopped on behind the man. He loved flying. It’d been ages since he last got to ride a flying Pokémon. 

“Those sure are ripe. Tippy isn’t a big fan of having his fruit picked, though. But that’s just him. Most of them love sharing their fruit.”

Kageyama backed away from the fruit and climbed atop the Pokémon. 

“Now then, hold on to the person in front of you,” he instructed. He wrapped his arms around the neck of the tropius, leading Hinata and Kageyama to hold on. 

“Now then, liftoff! Let’s fly, Tippy! We’re heading home!”

The tropius cried triumphantly and lifted off into the air with powerful force. Once they reached a good altitude, it began to glide calmly through the air. 

“So then, what the heck are you kids doing out here?” The man asked. 

“Looking for someone,” Kageyama told him. “Have you heard of a guy called Oikawa?”

The man chuckled. “My word, I certainly have. That boy was a riot.”

“So he was here!” Hinata declared. 

“For quite some time, yes. The ironic thing was he absolutely hated getting dirty. He was so upset whenever he had to get near any mud.”

“But... then, how did he get here if he didn’t want to walk through mud?” Hinata asked. 

“Boy howdy, you should’ve seen it. He and his boyfriend, or whatever he was, flew in on this incredible salamence!”

Kageyama’s arms tightened slightly around Hinata. “So it evolved, then,” he muttered. 

The man continued. “The boy said he wanted to see some tropius and whatnot. Ended up staying several weeks! Goodness, he was quite the interesting fellow.”

“Did he say where he was going?” Kageyama asked. 

“Sorry to say, but no. He up and left without a word one day. No one even saw him leave, much less hear he planned to.”

Kageyama said nothing, but he lowered his head onto Hinata’s back and continued his firmer hold. 

It was horribly awkward for a bit, and there was nowhere to escape to. A massive tree came into view, which took Hinata’s breath away, but he felt he shouldn’t say anything. The silence was choking him. 

Once the tropius landed by a small house, all three men dismounted, still unspeaking. 

“Well, so, uh, why do you call this tropius Tippy?” Hinata blurted out desperately. 

“Oh? Well, I’ve had Tippy since he was a youngster. I was out in the field when I found this poor guy. He kept on trying to stand up, but he just couldn’t keep his balance. Just kept tipping over and falling all over the place.” The man saw Hinata’s worried face and smiled. “He was just fine, though. It turned out to just be a concussion. He was a piece of work to get to the Pokémon center though, I’ll tell you that. He was basically a teenager in both age and attitude.” He stopped and rubbed the back of his head. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I’m rambling. Y’all probably want to find a place to stay.”

“That would be nice,” Hinata chuckled. “You said there’s a Pokémon center?”

“Oh, yes! It’s right by the willow. I’ll show you if you’d like.” He gestured to a stone path. 

“Yes, thank you!” 

Hinata took a moment to look at Kageyama, who remained silent. He showed no expression, but his eyes seemed to be dying slightly. It didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it, either, so Hinata just followed the kind man without a word.


	11. Chapter 11

“Well, you see that little building there? That’s it,” the man told them. 

Hinata wasn’t paying attention to the man anymore. He couldn’t look away from the tree. 

Apparently, the town was built around a massive weeping willow that sat at the top of a shallow, wide hill. But when the man said that and he thought back to the big tree he saw while riding tropius, he didn’t think it was going to be this spectacular. 

The trunk itself was wider than the Pokémon center that sat nearby. Hinata thought it would take twenty, maybe thirty people to link arms in order to reach around it fully. No, maybe even more. The branches were so wide and far-reaching, holding the drooping leaves high in the sky, much higher than the roofs on any of the buildings he saw. It was absolutely beautiful. 

The roots of the tree were probably what allowed for the buildup of sediment into the raised area they stood on. Maybe the entire town only existed because of this one tree. How old was it? What lived in it? 

“Kid? You still with me?”

“Oh! Yes, I’m sorry. Thank you so much for helping us!” Hinata bowed a bit and waved. “See you!”

“Yes, take care!”

Hinata began walking to the Pokémon center, but he stopped when he saw Kageyama wasn’t following him. “Are you coming?”

“You go on ahead and get a room. I’m gonna train for a bit.”

And with that, Kageyama wandered off. 

That wasn’t exactly what Hinata was expecting, but he chose not to think too hard about it. He went into the Pokémon center, which he quickly discovered was quiet. Only two visitors were sitting in the lounge, much less than what he was used to. 

“Hello! Welcome to the Pokémon center! I’m nurse Joy. Let me know if you need anything!”

Hinata smiled and waved awkwardly, not used to being greeted by the Joys he met elsewhere. She was clearly excited when he asked for a room, her eyes glowing with excitement. Business was slow, she told him, so she had a very nice room for them. 

Hinata unloaded his things and immedietly went to take a shower and change his clothes. He felt absolutely disgusting. Kageyama not stopping to at least take a shower was still perplexing to Hinata, and he found the thought creeping into his head several times as he washed himself. 

I need to stop thinking about Kageyama, he told himself. It’s fine. He’s fine. If he really isn’t, he would come talk to me. 

I think. 

The room was very spacious and Pokémon-friendly, according to the sign on the door, so Hinata took that opportunity to let out all his Pokémon for the first time in a few days. Torchic seemed hyper and slightly annoyed. 

“Sorry for keeping you cooped up so long. But you would hate getting muddy! I promise I didn’t forget about you guys.” He picked up torchic and gave her a hug. 

The baby spheal seemed to be getting a lot of attention. Growlithe was sniffing her intensely, but she didn’t seem to mind. She simply rolled into growlithe to snuggle in his fur. Of course, growlithe found that startling and barked as he jumped away. 

“Hey, it’s okay, you guys. This is spheal! She hatched from the egg Suga gave me!”

Pidgeotto hopped over and picked spheal up in his beak as though she were a giant berry. 

“Ah! Be gentle with her, she’s still just a baby!” Hinata squeaked. 

Pidgeotto just looked at him with a blank face and began to run around the room with spheal in his mouth. Thankfully, spheal seemed delighted. 

“Just... don’t pop her,” he sighed. 

——

It was 10 PM, and Kageyama hadn’t come. 

Hinata couldn’t shake the gnawing in his stomach, not even with the generous inclusion of a television in his room. His Pokémon were all clearly worried about him. They stared at him as he paced back and forth about the room, contemplating the consequences of both options: go find him and risk being an invasive jerk, or stay put and hope he comes eventually and doesn’t die. 

Well, maybe those were exaggerations. It didn’t make them easier to ignore if he knew that, though. 

The breaking point finally hit him. He told growlithe and pidgeotto to be good while he was out, scooped up torchic and spheal, and sprinted out of the Pokémon center. Nurse joy called after him, but Hinata didn’t catch what she said. It didn’t matter. 

Hinata checked the pokemart, the cafe, the grocery store, the police station, the nice old man’s house (“oh, dear. I hope you find him, but I haven’t seen him”), a couple of strangers’ houses, the clinic, the salon, the tiny schoolhouse, even the damn water well, but there was absolutely no sign of him. Panic was setting in. He was running out of places to look. 

...So he started running around outside the town instead. 

By the time he finally found a sign of him, it had to be 11. He couldn’t see much of anything anymore, so when he heard what sounded like Kageyama’s voice, he let out a choked “thank fuck” and ran toward it. 

It was Kageyama, alright. He was stood on a rock, watching over his umbreon as he repeatedly struck a tree with shadow ball. He didn’t really seem to notice Hinata walking up behind him, and he flinched when Hinata tapped his shoulder. 

“...What are you doing here,” Kageyama sighed. 

“I’ll ask you the same thing,” he panted. 

“Training. 

Umbreon trotted over to greet Hinata. He gave him a little pat. 

“What’s going on? You’ve been out here for hours. Are you okay?” Hinata wiped some sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. 

“You’ve been running,” Kageyama remarked. 

“I’ve been looking for you. I... got worried.”

“You didn’t need to come after me,” he said. 

“I know. I wanted to.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened a bit, but he quickly deflated. 

“Something has been bothering you, I know it. I didn’t want to bother you about it, but... I can’t keep ignoring it.”

Kageyama was quiet. He sat down on the rock, his expression empty. 

Hinata sighed, ready to give up, when Kageyama finally spoke: “You shouldn’t be here.”

Now that caught Hinata off guard. 

“...What?”

“I’ve been dragging you around aimlessly for, what, two months now? It took me hearing that we hit a dead end to finally start thinking. You just decided to come with me, but I truly don’t know where I’m going. And I was okay with that, at first, but I don’t think I am anymore.”

“...You mean you want me to leave?” Hinata nearly whispered. 

“No. I want you to want to leave. It’s not worth it. I don’t even know why I’m doing this. I mean, I have no clue what I’m doing. Why come with me if I’m clueless?”

“You think you’re not worth it?”

Kageyama nodded slightly. 

“So you want me to leave because I don’t need to come with you, and you think I’d be doing better things if I went off on my own?”

Kageyama nodded again. 

“That’s some fucking horseshit right there,” Hinata told him softly. 

The big, confused eyes that met him were probably the most vulnerable he’d ever seen from Kageyama. 

“I know I don’t need to come with you. I’ve known that since the beginning. I’m the one that decided I wanted to come, remember? I asked you, not the other way around. And back then, I didn’t even like you that much.”

Kageyama glared, but it was forced and weak. 

“But now that I know you, I can honestly tell you that you’re worth it. I’m having so much more fun than most of my own adventures have ever been. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going, this isn’t aimless, and you’re not an idiot. I wish you’d stop doubting yourself. I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again: I think you’re great.”

“I- I know that, it’s just-“

“No, I’m not done. I know you know I think that. And I know that’s not the issue. I don’t really care where we end up going. Not even a little. This has been so much fun, I’ve learned so many things, and I have been more intrigued by you every single day. You shouldn’t feel guilty at all. You haven’t been dragging me anywhere. I really like you.” 

Kageyama became so red that Hinata could still see it in the darkness. 

“...So this better be the last damn time you get insecure about this.”

Kageyama shot up. “I’m not insecure! What do you mean, I’m insecure?!”

“You know what I mean! It’s fine to be unsure sometimes, but I’m not gonna let you be insecure when it comes to me and this quest anymore!”

“You won’t let me?! What the hell does that mean?!”

“It means what it means! You better stop!”

“You make absolutely no sense, you idiot!”

“I make sense! I make so much sense!”

“Do you really?”

“Yeah!”

Torchic hopped off Hinata’s head and onto umbreon, who startled and leapt into the air. Spheal then did the same, making umbreon nearly fall over. Both men took a second to laugh at them. 

Kageyama smiled and looked at Hinata again. Hinata wasn’t sure what was on his mind, but he was glad he seemed to be feeling better. 

Then Kageyama hugged him. 

It was the kind of desperate hug that nearly knocked the wind out of the recipient. Hinata almost staggered back from the velocity. Kageyama held his tightly, but gently, and his head fell into the crook of Hinata’s neck. It didn’t take much thought for Hinata to hug him back. Kageyama’s wide, oddly warm back felt almost like home. 

“I’ll tell you the rest later,” Kageyama whispered. 

“There’s more?” He laughed. 

“Let’s just go back to the Pokémon center. I’m... hungry.” 

“Of course you are,” he chuckled. “Let’s go.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Hinata! Kageyama! I’m so glad you called, this is perfect!” Suga’s voice rang cheerily. 

“Suga! Look, look, the egg hatched!” He held spheal up to the camera and beamed. 

“Woah, a spheal! That’s great! I know you’ll take very good care of it.”

Daichi then wandered into the room, a bowl of tortilla chips and salsa in hand. “Hey, have you tried this stuff yet? Oh man, it’s so good.” He scooped up some salsa with a chip and ate it, visibly savoring the flavor.

“Daichi! Hinata and Kageyama called us. The egg hatched!” Suga told him. 

“Huh? Oh- fuck,” Daichi coughed. He quickly set the food aside and sat next to his partner. “Uh, hi. Sorry about that.”

“That’s alright,” Hinata giggled. 

Kageyama was containing his laughter, albeit poorly. 

“Anyways, it’s a spheal!” Hinata cried. 

“Wow, it’s got such bright coloring! I’m glad it hatched healthy and strong,” Daichi remarked. “Oh, Suga! Wait, did you tell them?”

“No, not yet, I was distracted by the spheal.”

“Huh?” Kageyama finally spoke. 

“Well,” Suga began, “we had some visitors recently. Two days ago?”

“Three,” Daichi corrected. “Hard to contact two guys who don’t have mobile devices when you don’t know when they’ll get to the Pokémon center they said they were going to.”

“Right. Well, we asked him them about Oikawa.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. He leaned forward. “What did they say?”

Daichi grinned. “They’re best friends. They saw him last week when they were all running around Verdena City, when he told them he was headed to Marigold Island.”

Both men’s jaws dropped. 

——

“You boys sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine from here. Thank you so much for the ride! You too, Tippy!” Hinata said. 

The old man waved at them as Tippy took off and flew back to the swamp. 

Kageyama wobbled back and forth between his feet, mouth twisted into what Hinata now knew was an excited smile (even if it looked like he had to pee). 

“You’re losing your mind with excitement, huh?”

He shook his head. “I’m not that excited. I’m... just glad we’ve got a clear lead.”

Hinata laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Me too. Let’s go.”

The island was aptly named, of course. Once they ran through the beach and set foot on dirt, there were marigolds everywhere. The whole damn island was covered head to toe in yellows and oranges and reds, bright and dark. Hinata couldn't NOT notice the blooms. 

The second thing he noticed was the absurd amount of Pokemon. 

It wasn't long before they stumbled across a group of bellossoms dancing cheerily. Then he spotted a meganium playing with a couple of chikoritas. Then he saw a butterfree and a beautifly fluttering about a particularly dense patch of marigolds. Then a roselia taking a rest. Then two oddish chasing each other. Then an ivysaur battling a sunflora. Then an entire pack of skiploom floating lazily through the sky. 

“There’s so many Pokémon. And none of them seem bothered by us at all,” Hinata remarked. 

“Well, yeah. This whole island is a Pokémon sanctuary. You’re not allowed to catch or fight any of them.”

“Really? I had no idea.” Hinata noticed a bellsprout and gave it a little wave. It seemed happy and wiggled a little.

“That’s kind of amazing,” Kageyama muttered. 

“Hm?”

“Nothing! Let’s just find a town, you moron!”

——

“You said ‘kind of amazing’ before, didn’t you?”

Kageyama clicked his tongue. 

“What’s amazing, Kageyama?”

No answer. 

“Come on,” Hinata whined, “I’m so curious!”

Still nothing. 

“Don’t do this to me, I’m dying!”

“Shut up, Hinata!”

“Kaaaaaageeeeeeyyyaaaaamaaaaa!!!”

“Holy fucking shit, you gremlin! I’m impressed that you waved at a bellsprout and it waved back!”

“Huh? That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it! Fuck!” Kageyama’s face was reddening. He looked like a marigold himself. 

“Geez, no need to get so worked up.”

“I’m not worked up!”

“Stupidyama, you’re bright red.”

“Because- you make me angry!”

“You’ve been acting so weird lately. Are you sure you’re okay?” Hinata asked. 

“I’ve got a lot on my mind, okay?!” Kageyama sighed. “I have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Like what? Oh, ‘cause we’re about to find him. Yeah, I get that.”

“Yeah, sure, that too.”

Hinata stopped. “...Now what does THAT mean!”

Kageyama shouted. 

——

“It’s called... Gold town?”

Kageyama shrugged. “It’s what the sign says.”

Hinata shook his head and chuckled a bit. “What are the other ones, Red and Orange?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Well actually, if you wanna know the truth, they’re Merriville and Bloomingburg,” a familiar voice spoke behind them. 

“...Kenma?!”

“Hey, Shoyo.” He smiled warmly at him. 

“Kenma... oh, your friend,” Kageyama recalled. 

Hinata bounced up to him and gave him a hug. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you studying?”

“We’re on break, Shoyo. I came to research the flower Pokémon here.”

Kageyama laughed slightly. “Those sound like contradicting statements.”

“Well, I suppose.” Kenma blushed slightly. “I just... like flowers.”

“Kenma, you’re so cute!” Hinata hugged him again. “Oh! Check it out, speaking of cute, I got this new Pokémon, or hatched it, or was given an egg and then hatched it, but I didn’t know what it was so it hatched and she’s cute and look!” Hinata took out spheal’s ball and released her into the world. 

Kenma made a vaguely excited noise and crouched down. “You’re right, she is cute.” He gave her a pat on the head. 

“Kenma- or, can I call you Kenma?” Kageyama coughed. 

“Kenma’s fine,” the cat-eyed boy told him. 

“I don’t mean to interrupt here, but have you heard about a guy named Oikawa?”

Kenma stopped petting spheal and looked at him, his golden eyes piercing in a way that made Kageyama gulp. “Why?”

“I’m looking for him.”

“He wants to fight him. That’s the guy who gave him the HM and stuff,” Hinata clarified.

“Oh...” Kenma looked away. 

It was quiet for a moment. 

“Are you sure you want to fight him?” Kenma suddenly asked. 

The question clearly caught Kageyama off guard, but that didn’t stop him from nodding confidently. 

“...I met Oikawa a few days ago. This is a long and thin island, so it’s hard not to encounter people coming through. Though, I probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid him. He’s very loud.”

“So he is here?” Kageyama asked. 

“Right now he should be in the town farthest from the mainland, Bloomingburg. I first saw him here in Gold Town, though. There’s a local Pokémon fighting arena here that I spent some time in. The fights are very interesting. But they stopped being interesting once he got here.”

Hinata felt his eyebrows tighten. “What do you mean?”

“Oikawa always won. Most of the time, he didn’t even have to think about the battle to win. Most of these trainers are amateurs, so he would sometimes win with one hit.”

“That sounds about right,” Kageyama muttered. 

“He always won, and it was almost always quick. It stopped being interesting after a few fights. I guess he might’ve gotten bored, too, because he left without much thought. Or maybe it was a lot of thought. He’s... hard to read.”

“You think everyone is hard to read, Kenma,” Hinata sighed. 

“Oikawa makes especially little sense to me. I met him a few times. He was... loud. Easily upset. Cocky, but pouted all the time.” Kenma sighed. “Weird.”

“Yeah, he’s always been like that,” Kageyama said. “Somehow, people are charmed by him. I don’t get it.”

Kenma cocked his head. “Well, he’s handsome.”

Kageyama looked like he just heard the most blasphemous thing ever. 

“Is he? I’ve never seen him,” Hinata chirped. 

“Yeah. He kinda has that cool, hot boy look. It doesn’t match his personality at all.”

“Is he tall?”

“Very tall. I’d maybe say... long.”

“Long? What’s the difference?”

“I guess there really isn’t one, but he’s just... long. Long legs, long arms, long neck, you know.”

“Huh, I’m kind of getting an image in my head. Is he blond?”

“No, brown hair and eyes. Both look pretty soft.”

“Wooow, he does sound cute,” Hinata laughed. 

Kageyama coughed, his face twisted in some kind of mixture of disgust, envy, and sadness. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop asking, Stupidyama.” He grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “So you’re staying here?”

Kenma nodded. “The Pokémon center has a lot of rooms, plus there’s an inn for fancy vacationers. And there’s the greatest thing, Shoyo. They have an arcade here.”

“Wow! A whole arcade!” Hinata sputtered. He felt giddy. 

“Yeah. Would you like to go?”

“Hell yeah!”


	13. Chapter 13

The arcade wasn’t particularly large, but it still held all the excitement of the huge arcades Hinata had seen. Kenma won nearly all the 1v1 games they played, as usual, but the few wins Hinata got were sweet and exciting. Kageyama seemed uncomfortable the whole time, but he eased up slightly after a while. That was how Hinata learned a few interesting things:

One, Kageyama was horrible at fighting games. 

Two, Kageyama was incredible at skee ball at whooped both of their asses at it. 

Three, Kageyama tended to cover his mouth with the back of his hand when he laughed in public.

Four, Kageyama enjoyed watching him play games almost as much as playing them himself (and with just as much enthusiasm.)

Five, Kageyama was about as good as Hinata at dance dance revolution. That lead to a long and intense battle, a lengthy line of impatient patrons waiting for them to finish, and a rabid mother of a crying boy giving them a good screeching. 

In the end, they were tied, so Hinata made a mental note to pick up on that later. 

They had dinner at a little restaurant by the Pokémon center, where they ate a surprising number of edible flowers, and then retired to the Pokémon center. Nurse joy told them they were lucky to have gotten there before too late. Apparently, they had a haunting problem in the town. Shuppet were fond of the tourists and whatever weird grudges they held (unhappy honeymoons, depressed singles on lonely vacations, recent divorcees escaping from their lives... a lot of love-related examples, actually), so they came in droves during some nights. 

Kenma went off to his room, and Hinata and Kageyama went to theirs. 

——

Naturally, both of them were sweaty and tired from the arcade. Hinata could feel the dried salty layer over his skin, but he let Kageyama shower first. He was looking pretty bothered. 

Hinata didn’t have much to do, so he just sat and watched torchic and spheal playing. 

“You guys are so cute,” he told them. 

Spheal was rolling about while torchic chased her. It was immensely adorable. 

Until torchic caught up with her. 

Seemingly forgetting that spheal was a baby, torchic headbutted the poor thing with full force, chirping triumphantly. Spheal bounces back against the wall and hit the floor, defeated and most certainly KOed. 

Hinata’s jaw dropped in time with torchic’s. Torchic cried a bit and skittered around her, tears welling in her eyes, when suddenly, she began to glow. 

Hinata’s mouth dropped open further. 

In a brilliant display of light, torchic slowly morphed and grew before Hinata’s eyes. Her feet became bigger, her head feathers became longer, and she grew arms with tremendous claws. Then, with a flash, the light dispersed and revealed torchic once again. 

Or, rather, revealed combusken for the first time. 

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT,” Hinata screamed. 

Kageyama heard the commotion and clamored our of the bathroom, his towel wrapped loosely around his waist. “Hinata?! What’s wrong?!”

Hinata couldn’t even speak. He lifted a shaky arm and pointed to combusken, who was now cradling spheal in her arms and crying. 

“Oh, woah, your torchic evolved? How?!”

“They were playing... torchic got a bit too rough... knocked out spheal... KAGEYAMA OH MY GOD!”

“You seem a lot more surprised than you should be,” Kageyama told him. 

“Listen, listen, I’ve had this torchic as my partner for almost 10 years now. She’s won so many battles and grown so much. I thought she wasn’t going to evolve. Obviously, that’s fine, I love her no matter what form she is, but I really just thought she wasn’t ever going to evolve.”

“I guess when you put it like that...”

“This is incredible!” Hinata leaped up and scooped his (now MUCH heavier) Pokémon into his arms. “I’m so proud of you, combusken!”

She squawked at him sadly and held up spheal, eyes still wet with tears. 

“Oh. Yeah. Spheal.”

A beat of sorrowful noises from combusken passed. Hinata set them on the ground again.

“Well, the good thing is we’re in a Pokémon center right now. And I know you didn’t mean to, combusken. It was an accident. Don’t feel too bad.” Hinata ribbed her head with his thumb. “Besides, I’m sure she won’t mind much.”

“Do you need help with anything?” Kageyama asked. 

“I think I’ll be fine-“ Hinata froze. 

In all the excitement, he forgot that Kageyama was just in the shower. And BOY, did that guy have ABS. It’s not like he was ripped, no, but he was clearly fit as hell. Hinata could see outlines of nearly all of his muscles on his skin, still glistening from the water. And his towel- well, he couldn’t see anything explicit, but it hung low enough that Hinata grew red in the face. 

Hinata learned one more interesting thing about Kageyama: he was HOT. 

“You sure? You don’t look so good,” Kageyama said. 

“No! I mean, yes! Uh- I mean, I’m good! I’ll- I’m gonna go talk to nurse joy!” Hinata sputtered. 

“Uh... okay...” Hinata heard him say as he dashed out the door. 

——

“It’s almost hard to believe this is really your torchic,” Kenma said.

“Right?! I mean it’s crazy! This is so damn awesome!” Hinata sang. 

The walk over to the next town was a simple and short one. It was a perfect opportunity for combusken to stretch her new legs and run around amongst the flowers. No more could the little fire-type ride on Hinata’s head; she was too big now. It was only a little bit sad for Hinata. 

“Do you know how much farther Merriville is?” Kageyama hissed. 

“Not far.” Kenma pointed through the trees. “The path is just a straight line from here.”

“Yeah,” Kageyama sighed. 

Hinata blinked. “What’s up with you?”

He clicked his tongue. “Nothing.”

“Kageyama, something’s bothering you. Is it Oikawa?”

“Obviously!” Kageyama snapped. “We’re so close, but I don’t even know what to do!”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s gonna be fine!” Hinata put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re strong and really cool and I just know it’s all gonna work out.”

He briefly wished he hadn’t done that. He could feel his muscles beneath Kageyama’s shirt.

Kageyama’s cheeks were dusted with pink. “...Okay.”

“Okay!” Hinata clapped him on the back and marched off.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for implied panic. Not an actual full-blown panic attack, but if general semi-panic makes you uncomfortable, please read with caution.

Merriville wasn’t anything spectacular. Hinata didn’t mean that in a rude way, but for a getaway island, the town was rather plain. Not swarming with activity, but not deserted. It had the weakest vibes Hinata had ever felt, and he’d been in the middle of a desert once. No one seemed particularly happy, but no one was upset. It was almost unsettling. 

Kenma immediately wandered off (“There’s an oddish nest around here, Shoyo, I need to go see it.”) and left Hinata and Kageyama to wander the streets. There was nothing of much interest, so they went straight to the Pokémon center. 

There was no one inside, save for nurse Joy, but she was sat at the front desk, face resting on the counter, fast asleep. 

Kageyama cleared his throat, but she didn’t respond. 

“Excuse me!” Hinata shouted.

Nurse Joy startled up and fell out of her chair with a small yell. Gracelessly, she clamored back onto her seat and have the men a big smile. The rings under her eyes and her slightly frazzled hair betrayed her expression, though. “Yes! Hi! Hello! Welcome to the Pokémon center!” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you like that!” Hinata told her. “Are... you okay?”

“No! I mean, yes- I’m fine! What can I help you with?”

“Uh...” Hinata glanced at Kageyama, who shrugged. “Do you have any rooms available?”

“Rooms? Yes, there’s no one staying here at the moment. If you’d like, you can pick which room you want. They’re all... pretty much the same, though...” Joy yawned. 

“Uh, that’s okay! We’ll take whatever room is easiest for you!”

“Alright, follow me, then.” Nurse Joy stood up and led them down the hallway to the rooms. 

“Uh... ma’am, are you sure you’re alright? You seem very tired.” Kageyama coughed and shot a worried glance at Hinata. 

“I’m- well, I am very tired, but I’m-“ she yawned, “I’m fine. This first door here is your room. I’ll get the key, be back in a moment.” She walked off wearily. 

Hinata waited a moment to make sure she was gone, then snapped his head to Kageyama. “What the hell? What the actually hell?!” He whisper-yelled. 

“What the fuck is up with this place?! Why is nurse Joy half-dead?!” Kageyama hissed back. 

“What do we do about this?”

“I don’t know! I would say ‘nothing’ normally, but this is too fucking weird! The poor nurse doesn’t even have a chansey with her!”

“Oh shit, I didn’t even notice! She doesn’t even have a chansey?! So she’s really all alone here?!”

“Chansey is resting in the back,” Joy said. 

Both Hinata and Kageyama startled. 

“She’s extremely exhausted, so I thought it would be best for her to sleep and take the day off.”

Kageyama’s eyebrows furrowed. “And you’re... not? Extremely exhausted?”

“I’m- well, I’m- no, the Pokémon center needs a nurse. I’m well enough to work.”

“I really don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t seem like you are,” Hinata told her. 

Nurse Joy didn’t respond. 

“Everybody here seems a little lethargic, but you’re the most... exhausted person we’ve seen. What’s going on?” Kageyama asked. 

“Um...” she hesitated, her eyes darting about the floor. “I... please don’t run away from here. I’ll tell you because I think you deserve to know, but... no one stays after they hear. It’s just the locals in this town, and... well, it’s disheartening to them that no one stays, and that just makes it worse...”

“We won’t run off,” Hinata reassured her. “Whatever it is, I’ve probably dealt with worse. Same goes for this guy.” He pointed at Kageyama. 

Nurse Joy smiled weakly at them. “Alright. I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this from our sister towns, but... we have a severe shuppet problem.”

“Oh! We did actually hear about that in Gold Town,” Hinata recalled. 

“It seems to be worst around here...” The nurse covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “You’d think it’s be great to have your negative emotions taken away, but it’s so numbing and tiring. And then when that wears off, you become afraid of getting drained out again, and that just draws them back, and then they eat that fear, and then it keeps going around and around and around and you just get more and more tired and exhausted each time, but there’s nothing you can do, you hardly ever even see them, but you know they’re there, and everyone around you is constantly tired, numb, or scared-“

Hinata put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down! I’m sure there’s a way to solve this. I’m impressed that you’re still working, but I think you deserve a little bit of rest.”

“But I can’t leave this place unattended! What if someone needs help?”

“Oh... well...”

Kageyama stepped forward. “We can help out for a day,” he told her. 

“We can?!” Hinata sputtered. 

“Oh, really? I wouldn’t even be able to pay you anything...” Joy fidgeted with her fingers. 

“That’s fine. We don’t need any money.”

Hinata stared in disbelief. 

“Oh, thank you! Oh, oh, thank you so much!” She began to weep slightly. “I feel like my heart just shed a hundred pounds!”

“It’s no trouble. Uh, don’t cry?” Kageyama stood rigid and awkward and Nurse Joy wrapped her arms around him. “Uh.... yeah... um...” he muttered. 

Joy released him from her grasp and smiled. “I’ve been so tired that I can’t even think of any solution. I really mean it, thank you.”

“Have a rest with chansey. We’ve been to so many Pokémon centers that we should be fine.”

“Alright. But come get me if you need to use any equipment. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you two haven’t been trained.”

“Okay. Makes sense.”

With a little bow, nurse Joy thanked him once more and retired to a room behind the front desk. 

Hinata couldn’t really believe what just happened. He made a frazzled gesture of confusion at the taller man, who seemed confused in return. 

“What? What’s with your face?” Kageyama crossed his arms. “Did I do something?”

“Uh, Oikawa?!” Hinata flapped his arms. “You wanna stay here and help a bunch of people we don’t know to create a very temporary solution for one person for several hours without getting any compensation despite the fact that we’re so close to finding the guy you’ve spent years searching for?!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t want to help someone in need? That’s out of character for you, Hinata.”

“You’re the one out of character!” Hinata pointed at his face accusingly. “Of course I wanna help her, but what’s up with you? You suddenly don’t care? That’s a little worrying. Normally we’d be in opposite positions here.”

Kageyama sighed. “Hinata, you stupid idiot.”

Now Hinata was even more confused. 

“Do you realize the opportunity right in front of us? If someone comes in here with an exhausted Pokémon, they might be dragging a shuppet along with them without even knowing it.” He grinned (the conniving, potentially evil kind of grin) and chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to catch a shuppet.”

“So you- you’re going to put Oikawa on hold? To catch a shuppet and help Nurse Joy finally take some time off?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s mostly the shuppet, isn’t it?”

“...Yeah.”

Hinata laughed. “I’m glad.”

“What? What do you mean?”

It wasn’t easy to admit it to his face, but Hinata was worried about Kageyama. Part of him expected Kageyama to be blinded by his goal once they got too close to reaching it. “You’ve been a little tense lately,” he told him. “I’m just glad you’re not too stressed about Oikawa. It kinda seemed like you were.”

“I told you, I’ve got a lot on my mind,” Kageyama grumbled. He looked away and pouted. 

“Yeah, I know, I know!” Hinata slapped him on the back. “Let’s get you a shuppet, then!”

Kageyama nodded triumphantly. 

“-Ah- shit, wait, isn’t the island a no-catching zone?” Hinata suddenly remembered. 

“...”

“...”

“...FUCK!”

——

The first few hours were fine. Every now and then, someone would wander in, ask for a potion or some directions, then leave. Hinata was able to keep himself occupied by humming to himself (which Kageyama surprisingly didn’t yell at him for) and playing catch with combusken with a rubber band ball he found. 

But after a few hours of that, Hinata was starting to lose his mind. They ate a pseudo-meal of snacks from the vending machine, but that was the most exciting thing to happen. 

Around 9, Hinata finally snapped. 

“No ones been in here for 3 hours!” He cried. “I don’t know what to do anymore!”

“Calm down, dumbass. The place closes at 11. It’s just a little longer.”

“I’m gonna diiiieeeee!” Hinata whined. 

Kageyama rolled his eyes, but Hinata noticed his leg bouncing under the counter. 

“...You’re just as bored as I am, aren’t you?”

Kageyama made no response of any kind. 

“I thought I saw your eye twitch a while ago. I did, didn’t I?”

He growled. 

“How dare you act like this isn’t the dullest thing we’ve ever done,” Hinata fake-sobbed. 

“OH MY FUCKING FUCK, THIS IS AWFUL. I’M SO ANGRY. I COMPLETELY FUCKING FORGOT ABOUT THE WHOLE RESERVE SHIT HERE. AND NOW IM STUCK HERE! NOTHING IS HAPPENING AND I TRAPPED MYSELF IN A DEAL BEFORE I EVEN REALIZED THAT WHAT I WANTED WASN’T GONNA FUCKING HAPPEN!” Kageyama suddenly roared. 

Hinata nearly laughed at the sudden outburst. “Right?!”

“I mean, what am I even DOING here?! I HAVE NO IDEA! AM I JUST TRYING TO AVOID MY PROBLEMS BY THROWING MYSELF INTO A DIFFERENT QUEST?! I can’t even tell how much I actually care about Oikawa anymore! Do I still hate him or do I hate the idea of him? Why do I even have to prove myself to him? For my own satisfaction? Do I even WANT this journey to end, or have I been clinging to this because I didn’t have any other big purpose in my life?! Is any of this real?!”

“...Oh.” Hinata scratches his head. That was unexpected. 

“Holy FUCK, I have no idea-“ Kageyama pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’ve got no damn clue!”

Nothing to say came to Hinata’s mind. He hadn’t even considered that Kageyama might be conflicted like this. 

Kageyama growled at the counter, eyes squeezed shut with frustration. 

“Kageyama, I honestly don’t really understand what you’re talking about. I’ve never had an arch nemesis. I don’t even think I’ve had much of a reason for traveling anywhere other than having fun.”

Kageyama grunted. 

“I think I kinda get it, though. It’s complicated. You set your mind on something for so long that you can’t even tell if you want the thing or you just want the feeling of wanting the thing and not the actual thing.”

“You make absolutely no fucking sense right now,” Kageyama grumbled. His expression softened a little, though. 

“Well, anyways, regardless of any of that, I think it’d be good for you to confront him. And... well, if you don’t want to fight him, then that’s that. And if you do, you should. Whatever happens happens, and I’ll support you in what you choose.”

“...Hinata, you’re unfair.”

“I’m what now?!”

Kageyama chuckled. “You’ve comforted me so many times, you might as well be my therapist. When am I gonna get to comfort you for a change, huh?”

And then he smiled. 

It was a radiant, beautiful- dare he say, loving- smile that Hinata had only seen very rarely. But somehow, this time, it was more beautiful than ever before. No, he was more beautiful than Hinata had ever noticed. The way his eyes became warm as they closed slightly with his smile made Hinata feel like-

Oh dear fucking lord. 

“Hinata? Are you alive?”

“YES!” He yelped involuntarily. “Or, er, uh, I’m- I’m fine!”

“Okay, first your fave got really red, and now you’re really pale.” Kageyama walked up to him and put a hand on his forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”

Hinata pushed his hand away and backed up. “I’m- I feel fine. It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Kageyama looked a little hurt, but he nodded and sat back down. 

“I’m pee.” Hinata smacked himself in the head. “I mean, I’m gonna go pee. Yeah.” He darted off before Kageyama could react and locked himself in the employee bathroom. 

He didn’t even bother sitting on the toilet. He just crumpled to the floor. Nurse Joy was the only one who ever used the employee bathroom, so it probably wasn’t gross. That wasn’t really what was on his mind, anyways. 

I’m such a fucking idiot, he thought to himself. I am so incredibly, unbelievably fucking stupid. 

I didn’t even notice that I like him. 

Kageyama...

I like Kageyama. 

The thoughts swirled in his head, rushing together into fear and doubt. Not thoughts like “Kageyama is out of my league” (Hinata had a bit more sense and self esteem than that), but thoughts like “he would never feel the same,” and “is this a good idea? Is this what he needs right now? Do I have the right to say anything right now?”

Hinata knew he was horrible at hiding his emotions. He knew fully well that he was fucked. 

He groaned and leaned his head against the door. He thought, what do I do? What can I do? I’ll probably explode. 

Hinata had never been good at handling love, either. His crushes tended to grow out of control before he realized they were there. He’d had a boyfriend before (despite how incredibly awkward he acted before they were dating, good lord) when he was maybe 14 or so, then another just a couple years before he met Kageyama. And then, after that relationship ended, he decided to give up on all that. It was a little too inconvenient for him to intentionally seek out romance while he traveled. He thought that was that. He’d never go down this road again. Of course, this just had to bite him in the ass out of nowhere. 

Out of nowhere? Wait. How long has this been building up? He had no clue. This shit was so complicated that it was slightly terrifying. He thought he was done with this.

He doesn’t need this right now, he thought. He needs to work through whatever has been bothering him. Oikawa and... whatever the other thing is. The thing he doesn’t want to talk about. 

Love scared him. Love was so incredibly exciting, yet intense, and Hinata felt overwhelmed by it. Despite being a hopeless romantic, he always felt something was a bit off. Like he was too intense, or perhaps he wasn’t intense enough. He didn’t really know. His last relationship ended because Hinata had apparently worn him out. His ex told him that he was too much, that the spark was gone, and the quirks he thought were charming became annoying and insufferable. He felt unlovable and foolish for a while after that. That didn’t last forever, but the doubt that came with it never left him. 

Kageyama needs someone who actually knows what he’s doing, he thought. What do I know? I’m a stupid, annoying spazz with no attention span. 

No, he told himself. I’m odd, but that’s not a bad thing. I think differently. I notice things other people don’t, I can’t listen to long, rambling, boring stories, I can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, and I’m told I’m always able to cheer people up. I’ve got good traits and not so good traits, just like everyone else. I don’t need to be ashamed of who I am. 

That doesn’t make me a good boyfriend, though. What if I fuck up? It happens a lot. I miss things sometimes. I like to think I’m empathetic, but I just... miss things. Like just now with Kageyama, how did I miss all that?

That’s not something I need to feel horrible about. I knew he was bothered by something. Kageyama is hard to read. It gets easier as I get to know him, though. I don’t have to be perfect. I am empathetic, I know I am. But I’ll never be perfect, and that’s okay. 

So what? I don’t have-

“Hinata, are you alright?”

He didn’t even notice the footsteps approaching the door, but Kageyama’s voice pulled him away from his thoughts. 

“I’m not gonna barge in if you don’t want me to. You just... you seem like something’s wrong with you.”

Hinata laughed a little. “I think that came out more rude than you meant it to, but thanks. I guess I can come out.”

Kageyama seemed surprised when Hinata opened the door. 

“What is it?”

“Were you... crying?”

“Huh?” He felt his cheek with a couple fingers. It was damp. “Well, apparently. How long was I in there? Like, a half hour?”

“...Hinata, you were in there for less than 10 minutes.”

“Oh.”

It was quiet for a moment before Kageyama spoke. “Yeah, um. The thing I said earlier. If you want... Uh, if you wanna talk? I can... listen. To you talk.”

Hinata couldn’t help it. He burst into a cackle that almost hurt his stomach. It made Kageyama look a bit offended, but mostly confused. 

“You’re awful at that,” Hinata laughed, “but thank you. That’s really nice of you, Stupidyama. I think I’m gonna be okay, though.”

He nodded. “We still have to work,” he reminded him. 

“Great, you fucking ruined it,” Hinata snickered. 

“Wha- hey!”

“Kidding, kidding. Come on.”

They returned to the front, but Hinata couldn’t shake the fear from within him.

——

“Oh my fucking shitting fuck, it’s finally 11.” Kageyama stood and stretched his limbs. 

“Oh, yeah? Alright.” Hinata felt kinda tingly. He guessed that it was just from being bored for so long. Sleep wouldn’t be so bad. With a yawn, he stood. 

“Tired? It’s only 11,” Kageyama said. 

“Yeah... I dunno. I guess being bored just makes you... tired?”

“Hm... I guess.”

Kinda strange, Hinata figured. He wasn’t one to get so tired at a measly 11 PM. He slept and woke up at he pleased. He must’ve just been THAT bored. 

Wait. 

“Kageyama... I was really upset earlier, right?”

“I mean, yeah. Why?”

“Kageyama...”

“What?!”

“I’m not upset anymore. I don’t feel much of anything.”

Kageyama’s jaw dropped. 

“SHUPPET!” Hinata shouted. 

A tickling sensation ran up his spine, making Hinata shudder violently. He turned around slowly. 

“Shuppet!” The little creature exclaimed. 

“Hey!” Kageyama held up a Pokémon and scowled. “Back off. I’ve got an umbreon with me and I’m not afraid to show you!”

The shuppet squeaked and flew gracelessly out the door. 

“Wow... that was easy,” Hinata muttered. 

“I can’t even catch it,” Kageyama hissed to himself. 

Shuppet must have really been afraid of umbreon, he thought. It makes sense, though. If I were a ghost type, I wouldn’t like dark types either. 

“Ah!” Hinata shouted. 

“What?”

“That’s it! Kageyama, you’re a genius!”

“I- well, yeah, obviously, about time you noticed.”

“No! Really! Dark types! That’s how these people can scare off the shuppet!” He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the front desk and began outlining his thoughts. “Shuppet obviously wouldn’t like dark types because they’re weak to them, so if some dark type Pokémon patrolled the town at night, they would stay away! Like guard dogs-“ Hinata gasped. “LITERALLY GUARD DOGS! They could start training some mightyena to help out at night as guard dogs! They’re super intimidating and they’re dark type! And they’re not super rare or anything! Maybe if some people already have some, they could have some kind of program! It wouldn’t be super rough on the mightyena, since this place isn’t too big, and they could get yummy treats and stuff for their work! That way, the mightyena aren’t doing something for nothing. The trainers probably wouldn’t mind too much because it’d be the middle of the night, the shuppet will leave, the mightyena get pampered for helping out, and everything works out!” Hinata slammed the paper on the counter triumphantly. “It’s flawless!”

“Wow,” Kageyama coughed. He clapped softly, then seemed to notice that that was a little weird and stopped. “I- actually don’t see anything wrong there. I mean, they wouldn’t even need much training. Mightyena instinctively know how to protect territory, and they already live in packs in the wild. That would be an ideal Pokémon for this. They might even just start doing that on their own if they see the town as their territory.”

“Hell yeah!” Hinata yawned. 

“Did the big idea energy wear off?”

“Yeah, holy shit, I’m so tired.” He wilted onto the counter and whined. “Help.”

“Come on, dumbass, let’s go,” Kageyama groaned. Eyes rolling, he offered a hand to Hinata and supported his weight as they walked. All the while, Hinata heard little murmurs of “dumbass” and “stupid Hinata.”

He seemed to be smiling as he helped him, though.


	15. Chapter 15

Nurse Joy was incredibly excited and grateful the next morning. Apparently, she had found the notes Hinata took on his plan when she got up. When she blasted their door open, eyes full of tears, Hinata feared something horrible happened to her, but that got cleared up eventually (not nearly fast enough, though, dammit. He’d almost pissed himself.) 

She told them that some poochyena and mightyena breeders recently moved there. Nurse Joy called them immediately after seeing the note. They were very excited about the opportunity and couldn’t even contain their energy. Well, one couldn’t, anyway. The other agreed with much more contained enthusiasm, apparently.

Kageyama and Hinata left that day with the most heart-felt thank you that Hinata had ever received. 

“Oh, thank you, thank you so much! Your idea is incredible! I might even name the whole concept after you, if Lev and Yaku are okay with that! This just might change everything for us!”

“I’m happy that I could help! You’ve been working very hard, I’m glad I might have been able to ease your stress!” Hinata told her bashfully. 

“Do you know where a guy named Kenma might be?” Kageyama asked. 

“Oh, of course, he stayed here last night as well!”

Hinata choked. 

“I didn’t ever see him! How the fuck?!” Kageyama ruffles his hair and scowled, probably scamming his brain for any memory he could’ve missed. 

“Now, now, Kenma’s a quiet boy with no sense of time whatsoever,” Hinata laughed. “I swear, sometimes, his sleep schedule is pretty much inverted.”

“Actually, he only stayed in his room for a few hours,” nurse Joy explained. “He got there late at night after I finished my nap, then left just before sunrise.”

“Now THAT is rare,” Hinata mumbled. 

“He went into the forest by the west side of town. He might still be there, but I’m afraid I don’t know more than that.”

“That’s more than helpful enough, thank you!” Hinata slapped Kageyama’s back (“Oof!” He coughed) and turned to the streets. “I hope everything works out!”

“Take care, now!” Nurse Joy called after them. 

“He went off into the forest? I thought he was supposed to take us to Bloomingburg.” Kageyama sighed and looked out into the distance. 

“Meh, we can find our way without him if he’s doing something important. It’s not like we could get lost here.”

“Don’t jinx it, you little shit.”

——

When they found Kenma, he was curled into a ball against a large tree, scribbling down notes and sketches with fervor. 

“Kenma! What’s up?” Hinata called. 

“Oh, Shoyo. You might want to keep your voice down. This is a roselia nest.”

“A WHAT?!” Hinata wheezed. 

“Well, a bunch of them live here. They seem to keep coming back to this spot. I guess this is their home.” Kenma smiled, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. “They’re really beautiful and fascinating. I had abra follow them so she can let me know when they’re coming back.”

“And they’re... okay with you sitting in the middle of their house?” Kageyama asked. 

“Well, not at first. But I’m quiet. They didn’t seem to mind after I showed them that I’m not a threat.” Kenma glanced at Hinata. “I’m not too sure about you, though. You’re a bit loud. No offense.”

“Yeah, no, I totally am.”

“So are you... y’know...” Kageyama gestured vaguely to the area. “You gonna stay here?”

“Oh, well...” Kenma curled his fingers around his notebook. “Yeah... if that’s okay...”

“I mean, yeah. Sure.” Kageyama cleared his throat and glanced at Hinata. 

He knew what that meant. It was Kageyama crying for help. He basically was screaming at him, “help me. I’m not good at talking to people. You’re his friend. I don’t actually care very much but that sounds bad- and it’s not that I don’t like him- I think he’s fine. I’m not worried about going there without him. But I don’t not give a shit about him. How do I say that. Help me. I cannot express feelings.”

“I think Kageyama doesn’t mind. I don’t mind, either.” He grinned. “You can’t get rid of me anyways. Thank you so much for your help, Kenma. I think we’ll all stay in touch, right, Kageyama?”

Kageyama gave him another look, this time one more like “I don’t know how you got that message so clearly but I’m grateful,” then actually physically said “yeah.”

Kenma smiled softly at both of them. 

——

Hinata was livid. Not at anyone or anything in particular, but he was definitely angry. 

They started following the path to bloomingburg about half an hour ago. What the hell happened? It’s not like they were walking through a corn maze. It’s a path. A path! A straightforward path that, yeah, sure, sometimes had offshoots, but there was a distinct main path! And now, for some unholy reason, they were no longer on it. And then Hinata just had to tell Kageyama that he knew how to get back. 

“It’s easy,” he’d said. “It’s just a fork in the road. We just cut straight across and we’ll be back on the path.”

That was 20 minutes ago.

They couldn’t even find any sort of path to follow anymore. How the hell did it end up like this? 

The most shocking part of all? Kageyama wasn’t angry. He wasn’t upset about being lost, he wasn’t mad at Hinata for making them even more lost, and he wasn’t even mad that Hinata was stomping around cursing the sun for no real reason. He’d expected a tongue-lashing from his taller, scarier, probably-much-stronger-and-could-beat-his-ass-er companion, but he did nothing. 

Kageyama was even trying to console him. 

“I know you’re upset, Hinata, but it’ll end up okay. This place is too small for us to be lost forever.”

“Well I still hate being lost! I’m never lost! I can’t believe this shit, we should’ve just arrived!”

“Maybe try swearing some more. That might let out some tension.”

Hinata glared. “Are you being sarcastic? I can’t even tell.”

“No, really. Do it.”

“Okay, then.” Hinata looked up at the sky (again) and screamed hideous insults at the sun. Such things that must not be repeated by anyone to anyone. 

“How do you feel?” Kageyama asked, as though he hadn’t just watched a gremlin shrieking at the sky. 

“Awful! Fuck! Fucking shit, fuck!” He stomped the ground for good measure and pouted. 

Kageyama scratched the back of his head. “Alright, this was funny for the first 15 minutes, but now I’m kinda starting to feel bad.”

Hinata gasped. “You WERE being sarcastic! You’ve betrayed me! What aren’t you telling me?!”

“Hinata, you know you can just ask pidgeotto to fly up and see which direction we need to go, right?”

Hinata felt his mouth drop open. He felt dumber than a psyduck. 

“I can ask golbat instead, if you want.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!”

Kageyama shifted his weight. “I told you. It was funny at first. But, uh... y’know. I feel bad now.”

“I can’t believe this- no, wait, actually, I can.” He stormed up to Kageyama and pushed his entire body into him, then pointed a finger into his face and glared with mock rage. “You let this happen! I can’t ever trust you again! My life is over, I thought you loved me!”

“Man, I’m sorry, it’s just fun to watch you get frustrated, it’s cu- I mean, you’re stupid and it’s funny.”

Hinata quirked his brow. “Oh? And what were you gonna say before that? I didn’t quite catch it.”

Kageyama swallowed thickly. “Uh, I said you’re stupid?”

“Before that.”

“I’m sorry?”

“After that.”

“...It’s fun to watch you get frustrated?”

Hinata sighed and backed away from the personal space he was invading. “You know what I mean. What’s cue? What’s that the beginning of?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Kageyama shifted his weight once more and evaded eye contact. 

“Cucumber? Cue ball?”

“No, shut up!” His face was getting red. 

“Aw, you were gonna call me cute, weren’t you? You sly thing~”

Kageyama sputtered nonsensically, his entire face and neck turning bright red. 

“Woah- dude, I was just kidding, calm down. You mess with me, I get to mess with you.” He smiled at him. 

Inside, he was actually wishing Kageyama would call him cute, but Hinata would die before he said that aloud. 

“Come on,” he said instead, “I’ll send out pidgeotto.”

“That’s date. Great! GREAT! I meant great. That’s great. It’ll be great.”

Hinata cocked his head. “Maybe I’m just too good at teasing you. You okay?”

“YES! I AM, IN FACT, SUPERB,” he shouted. 

He snorted cheerfully. “Whatever, Stupidyama.”

——

Despite their incident in the woods (that will never be spoken of again), they managed to find their destination thanks to pidgeotto. And man, was Hinata glad they did. 

Bloomingburg wasn’t quite like the other places. It had much more of a “vacation”, or “I’m going to eat nanab berries and drink cocoanut water on the beach and there’s nothing you can fucking do about it” kind of vibe, whereas the other locations were a bit more town-like. Maybe it was because this was the only town that was actually right up against the beach, or maybe people just liked it more for some reason. It didn’t really matter. The point is, Hinata LOVED it. 

Of all the interesting places he’d been, this was the first location to have Pokémon food stands alongside regular food stands. Hinata couldn’t help but squeal when he saw one stand offering 15 different flavors of Pokémon food. The vendor told them that she was fascinated by how diverse Pokémon’s tastes could be, which was apparently as much as a human’s. 

Hinata was a sucker for interesting topics like that, so, naturally, they started chatting. 

She told him that her name was Saeko, she had a brother called Ryu back in Pluma Town (“What a coincidence! We actually met him!”), and she loved making Pokémon food almost as much as she liked messing with people. Hinata was going to ask her more, but Kageyama said something about holding up the line and dragged him off. Saeko seemed to get a kick out of that. 

They decided to sit at the beach in a nice spot under some trees. 

“You really didn’t have to get every flavor, you know,” Kageyama told him. 

“But Saeko-San was nice enough to discount us! And besides, I’ll bet you don’t know that much about what flavors your Pokémon like.”

“I know plenty, you walnut!” He released all his Pokémon and sneered mockingly. “Okay, I guess pick whatever smells the best. Of these... 15.”

Hinata giggled and followed suit. 

It immediately became obvious that some Pokémon strongly preferred one flavor over any of the others. Hinata found it hilarious that growlithe, ekans, and umbreon were all immediately drawn to the “bitter and sweet” flavor. None of them gave any other bowl as much as a glance. 

On the other hand, golbat seemed to be eating just about everything, hovering between each bowl as it pleased. 

Pidgeotto and wartortle both wandered between “sour,” “sweet,” and “sweet and sour,” while spheal happily gobbled up the bowls of “dry” food and its combinations. It was almost like they were circling each other. 

Combusken, by the time Hinata looked at her, had inhaled the entire bowl of “spicy and sweet” and was now staring down the bowl of plain “spicy” that growlithe had just switched to. 

Aron nibbled a bit at the “dry and bitter” bowl, but she didn’t seem nearly as excited about it as any of the other Pokémon were. 

Kageyama noticed this as well and crouched down by her. “What’s wrong? None of them taste very good?”

“Arrr,” she replied sadly. 

“Oh, I got you.” Kageyama reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a handful of nuts and bolts. With bizzare finesse, he sprinkled them atop her food. 

That seemed to excite her. She barked gratefully and chomped down the food with much more joy and energy. 

“I guess you really do know your Pokémons’ tastes,” Hinata laughed. 

Kageyama looked pretty smug and began rambling about how aron primarily eat iron (as if Hinata didn’t know that) and then some other random crap about their behavior.

Maybe Hinata shouldn’t have said that. Oh well. He couldn’t focus on what he was saying when he smiled like that anyways.


	16. Chapter 16

Go find the recycling bin, Hinata. It’ll be easy, Hinata. It’s a stupid bin and there’s probably at least a dozen, Hinata. Just go recycle these bowls, Hinata. 

There were no trash cans or recycling bins anywhere, and he was starting to get frustrated. You’d think there’s be as many recycling bins and trash bins as there were benches, but no! Did this place not care about the environment?! You gotta put them all over the place so lazy bastards don’t just litter because they can’t be bothered to hold onto their trash for five seconds!

Well, Hinata wasn’t like that. He was gonna find the stupid recycling. Maybe he was just stupid and kept wandering past them without noticing?

Well, Hinata failed to notice a lot of things in his life. Including the man he bumped into just then. 

“Ah, sorry, you okay?”

Hinata looked up at the man and couldn’t help but stare at his arms. His bulky, thick, absolutely ripped muscles. Hinata had never seen such absolutely massive arms in his life. How much did this guy lift? What the fuck? He could crush Hinata’s skull with those things. 

Oh, man, his thighs were equally as ripped. Those could probably crush his skull, too. 

“Oh, shit, did you hit your head? Oh fuck, I am so, so sorry. Do you- Uh, can you stand?” The man reaches a hand out to help him, his eyes filled with concern. 

“Oh! I’m fine, I’m sorry!” He leapt up and brushed off his shorts. “I space out a lot! I’m really sorry!”

“Huh? I ran into you, you don’t need to apologize.”

“No, I was the one not paying attention. It’s my fault.”

“Hey, well, I wasn’t paying attention, either. I’m too busy looking for my piece of shit boyfriend.” He furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his hair in irritation. 

“Oh, do you need help?”

“Nah, that fucker doesn’t deserve a search party. I’m just gonna kick his ass when I figure out where he ran off to.”

Hinata was puzzled. “Yknow, you don’t really seem like you like him all that much.”

The man laughed. “Nah, I love the shit out of him. But he’s annoying as hell. He does shit like this on purpose. Maybe he gets a kick out of me being pissed.” He noticed Hinata’s skeptical look. “Hey, it sounds like bullshit, but he’s crazy. Anyways, if you’re sure you’re okay, I’m gonna keep looking.”

“Okay. I hope you find him!”

The man walked off with a wave, and Hinata waved as well. 

Wait, that bench. There’s bins at that bench he’s walking past, Hinata’s brain screamed. 

“Fuck yeah, finally!” he shouted as he slam-dunked the bowls into the green one. 

That got him a couple weird looks, but Hinata really didn’t give a shit at that point. 

——

Kageyama sighed. It wouldn’t bother Hinata that much if it wasn’t the sixth time in the past 10 minutes. For the most part, he seemed fine. The steady face he usually held remained, and he wasn’t acting any different than normal. But after he suggested that they go for a swim before looking for Oikawa, he just sprawled out on the wet sand where the ocean kissed the land and kept sighing. Water continually trickled up to his feet, legs, and even his back sometimes, but it didn’t seem to bother him. 

“Kageyama, we took the time to buy swimming trunks, but you’re not even gonna get in the water?”

No response. 

“Seriously, what’s up with you? I’m actually getting worried now.”

He sighed again. 

“Okay, that’s seven sighs. Do you just hate the ocean? Or maybe you hate getting wet, like a persian?” He swam up, then approached Kageyama and sat down. “Does your stomach hurt? I don’t like swimming when my stomach hurts, either.”

Kageyama seemed to suddenly notice that Hinata was there. He blinked a few times. “Huh?”

“Jeez, now I’m really worried. What the hell, man?”

“Yknow... got a lot on my mind...”

“You keep saying that, but I feel like now there’s something else on your mind. Like, a new thing. Another thing.”

“It’s not new and I’m not sure what to do about it.” He closed his eyes. “Well, you actually gave me some advice, but I just don’t know what comes after that. It’s scary, not knowing what’s gonna happen.”

“What are you talking about?”

He opened his eyes again. “What’s the point? Is there a point? What do I say to him? What can I say that will convey what I mean?”

“Are you talking about... Oikawa?”

“Yeah.”

A wave grazed Hinata’s hips. 

Kageyama sighed again. 

“Listen, Kageyama, I don’t think there’s a right answer. And I think you know that. And I hope you know that I think you know that.” He sat up and looked down at his friend. “So, y’know, even though there’s not much either of us can do until the time comes, I guess... try not to think about it too hard?”

Kageyama scoffed. “Easier said than done.”

An idea crept into Hinata’s head. He chuckled and gathered some wet sand into his fingers. 

“What’s so funny?” Kageyama quirked a brow. 

Hinata launched their clump of sand directly at Kageyama’s stomach. The impact made him convulse like a dying fish. The strangest noise came from his throat, something like a gasp of surprise mixed with the wind being knocked out of him mixed with a cough. 

He laughed and laughed, because it truly was funny. Very funny, in fact. But Kageyama sat up slowly with a dark gleam in his eyes. 

That’s when it stopped being funny. 

With no warning, Kageyama clapped two clumps of sand with each hand directly into Hinata’s face. He yelped. 

What else was there to do but push him over and splash him in the face with salt water? That’s exactly what Hinata did, but Kageyama was faster at recovery than expected and splashed him with a powerful wave. 

“You bastard! How could you do this to me!” Hinata wailed as he clapped his hands together into a burst of squirting water. 

“You started this! You fucker!” Kageyama tackled Hinata into the sand in an attempt to pin him down. 

“You think you won? Hah!” Hinata kicked a heel deep into the sand and pushed with all his might, making both of them roll over. 

Now Hinata had the advantage. He pinned Kageyama’s wrists to the ground with each hand and placed his legs atop the loser’s. Hinata had plenty of pseudo-wrestling experience, so he knew there was little Kageyama could do to escape. His hands were immobilized, his legs were trapped beneath Hinata’s slightly askew legs, and, for good measure, his hips got a good squeeze from Hinata’s knees. 

He lowered his head so that their faces were inches apart. “I win,” he mused. 

The funniest part of the whole thing was Hinata’s incredible density. It took a full three seconds of staring into Kageyama’s eyes before he noticed the situation. 

Kageyama was red. Super red. Hinata could feel his hands trembling slightly in his grasp. He could feel how hard and fast Kageyama’s heart was beating against his own chest. He could feel the slight twitch and squirm of Kageyama’s legs, so subtle it could have been involuntary. 

Shit.

“Shit,” Hinata’s actual mouth echoed. He launched himself off Kageyama and tumbled into the shallow water. Now he could tell that his own heart was beating much too fast. 

Oh no, did Kageyama feel that?

“Uh,” he sputtered. Just a glance at Kageyama made it clear that he was still bothered. 

Hot and bothered, or horribly uncomfortable and bothered? Hinata decided he didn’t really want to know which. 

“You...” Kageyama suddenly spoke, “y-you just startled me. It’s fine.”

Well, that was clearly a lie, but whatever. 

“S-sorry! Ugh, I’m really sorry!”

“Why the hell did you throw sand at me?!” 

Hinata smiled nervously. “Uh, distraction...?”

Kageyama pulled his legs up to his chest. “You’re so fucking weird,” he muttered softly. 

“You might be even weirder, though.”

A tiny smile fell onto Kageyama’s face. “Maybe.”

——

After they were done goofing off, they called their Pokémon back, put them back into their pokeballs (except for combusken, of course,) and they decided that it was time to start asking around. 

Everyone seemed to know Oikawa. A lot of people had a lot of different opinions, but almost everyone they asked had some kind of memory of him. 

“Oikawa? Yeah, I know the guy. He’s been here for a little while. Don’t know what he’s doing here, but sometimes I hear him whining about something or other.”

“Oh, I love that guy! He always compliments my outfits!”

“That dumb jerk ran into me and didn’t even apologize. He made me drop my salad! My salad! I yelled at him, but he didn’t even respond! Honestly, that’s not even the first time he’s done something like that. Just a few days ago-“ (Hinata and Kageyama decides that was a good time to run away.)

“Oh, yes, that boy. Sometimes he comes in here to look at the clothes I make. He even bought a few things from me! He’s always humming to himself while he shops.”

“One time, he build a little sand castle and just stared at it for a while. He seemed pretty proud of himself. It wasn’t even that big, though.”

“That boy buys smoothies from me quite often. One time, he said something to his boyfriend that I was too far away to hear, and then his boyfriend accidentally made him drop his smoothie by pushing him. He felt so bad, he came up and got another one for him. It was rather cute.”

Unfortunately, no one actually seemed to know where he was at that moment. 

“Oh, man, what a strange dude,” Saeko told them. “He’s wild. Everything I’ve seen him do is some variation of stupid or dastardly.”

“Have you seen him around?” Hinata pleaded. 

“Well, no, but I actually saw his boyfriend not too long ago. He looked mad about something, so I was like, ‘what’s up with you?’ And he said his stupid boyfriend ran off and did something dumb again, so he had to go find him and maybe kick his ass.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Iwaizumi,” Kageyama sighed. 

Something clicked. 

“Wait, what does he look like? Is he really buff? Massive arms? Black hair, greenish eyes?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty spot on,” Saeko said as she nodded. 

“Oh my fucking lord,” Hinata muttered. 

Kageyama seemed perplexed. “What?”

“Dude, I ran into him earlier today. Literally ran into him.”

“You WHAT?!”

Saeko laughed. 

——

“Just admit it, Hinata, this isn’t gonna work.”

“It’ll work! They’re great at searching, y’know.”

“Yeah, sure, but they don’t actually know what he looks like.”

Hinata groaned. “But I know what Iwaizumi looks like, and that’s good enough! One of them is gonna come back and tell us that it found them.”

Kageyama still didn’t seem to be on board with the whole idea, but he reluctantly pulled out his pokeballs. “I don’t want anyone getting lost, though. 

“They’ll be fine, right guys?”

Hinata’s Pokémon all chirped affirmatively. 

“Don’t worry about it! If you don’t wanna send yours out, that’s fine! My kids can handle it!”

Kageyama growled, but sent out aron, golbat, and umbreon. “These three probably have the best noses. Apart from ekans. But I’d feel nervous about sending her off. I think she would too.”

“Hm? Why?”

He rolled his eyes. “First, she’s kinda slow. Second, she gets nervous when I’m not around. Third, you remember how I found her?”

“Oh, yeah. I guess that makes sense. 

Aron barked and began to rub her head on the metal bench. Thank fuck she didn’t just start eating it. 

“Okay, guys,” Hinata cheered, “find the buff man!”

The Pokémon scattered off in different directions. 

“Yeah, uh, you too?” Kageyama rubbed the back of his head. 

Umbreon jumped onto golbat, clung on firmly, and yipped at Kageyama as golbat flew away. 

Aron, however, continued to run her face all over the bench. 

“That’s so cute, but not at all what I had in mind,” Kageyama sighed. 

“Oh, leave her. Look at how happy she is!”

She did look very happy. It reminded Hinata of a Persian. Weird, how feline-like Kageyama’s aron was. 

A wingull was flying low to the ground and decided to make a stop on that very bench. It pruned at a few of its feathers, then began to pluck at a loose bit of food someone left behind. 

Aron growled and glared at the offender (of what, Hinata didn’t really know.) She climbed the bench and stared the wingull dead in its eyes, barking what was probably Pokémon profanity at the little flying type. It ignored her, pointedly taking the effort of scoffing at her and waving a wing in dismissal. 

Now that made her mad. 

“What the fuck is happening?” Kageyama said. 

The stone path beneath them began to creak and rumble. The wingull seemed undeterred, now squawking mockery into aron’s face. 

“I am... so scared,” Hinata muttered. 

Aron opened her mouth and began making a terrible screeching noise. Kageyama and Hinata immediately covered their ears, but it didn’t do much to help. Hinata could almost see the sound waves themselves as they rippled at wingull viciously. 

“Is this metal sound?!” Hinata shouted. 

“What?!”

“IS THIS METAL SOUND?!”

“WHAT?!”

“IS. THIS. METAL. SOUND?!”

“FUCK IF I KNOW!”

Wingull seemed a bit dazed, but began to hover above the bench and scream at aron. She closed her mouth, ending the awful noise, and continued to glare at it. 

“My ears are still ringing,” Hinata whined. 

The rumbling in the ground intensified. Aron barked at wingull once again, probably giving it another warning. It just screeched at her haughtily. 

The large rocks from beneath them broke off from the path they were cemented to and began to float around aron. In the process, the road was left in ruins, save for the tiny bit supporting the bench. The stones hovered for a bit before aron roared. All in unison, the stones rocketed at wingull, who screamed in panic before being pummeled by the rocks and being send flying off into the sky. 

“You didn’t have to rock tomb it, aron!” Kageyama sighed. “Fuck, there’s a crater in the road here.”

“Uh, Kageyama?” Hinata pointed at aron, who began to glow brightly. 

“What- guhaeugh?!” Kageyama coughed. 

Aron’s brilliant white light began to glow even brighter and larger. She slowly grew a tail and better-functioning legs as the light became almost blinding. With a final flash, the light dispersed, and in its place sat a now-much-larger aron. 

Er, lairon. 

“WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!” Kageyama sputtered. He rushed over to lairon and inspected her. “Fantastic! Awesome!”

“Very cool!” Hinata added. 

“Rrargh,” Lairon barked.

“Oh man, this is so fucking cool. Damn, I’m starting to talk like Hinata now. Whatever. You were about to evolve?! Hell yeah!” He gave lairon a big hug, to which she growled happily. 

“I... I really hate to be the buzzkill, but, uh... what are we gonna do about this?” Hinata gestured to the absolutely destroyed road around them. 

Kageyama’s face became blank. It was quiet for a moment before he spoke. 

“Let’s run.”

“Yeah.”

The three of them charged off into the woods, scrambling as fast as they could. 

——

_Unsurprisingly, several complaints were filed about the weird crater in the road, which was determined to be vandalism. There were no suspects, however, and the town just kinda forgot about it. It became an attraction of sorts, where visitors would say “what’s that?” and locals would say “that’s the mystery crater! No one knows how it got there, but it’s weird!” and then go on about their days. An attempt was made to fix it, but locals eventually became attached to it, some even claiming it was made by a stray hyper beam from rayquaza itself, so efforts were abandoned. Some claim that sitting in that bench inspires a zen calm inside your mind. Others think it’s just a fucking bench. Many theories exist about its creation, but no one will ever know what really happened._

——

After some futile searching (“Hinata, why would he be in a fucking dumpster, you nitwit?!”) and a short break, pidgeotto came flying down, squawking wildly. 

“What is it, boy?! Did you find him?!” Hinata leapt off the bench and made a perch with his arm. 

Pidgeotto perched on his arm and chirped affirmatively. 

“Yes!” He pumped his free fist. “Show is the way, buddy!”

Pidgeotto gracefully soared into the air, making some loops to ensure that the humans could catch up. Kageyama still sat on the bench, his eyes unfocused but sharp from deep thought. 

“Hey. You ready? If you’re not, it’s okay.” He gave Kageyama a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 

“I think... I’m ready. I gotta get over this so I can move on with my life.” He stood, eyes now fixated on pidgeotto, who was getting impatient. “Whatever happens happens. I’ll be alright. And then I can take care of other things that are probably more important than this.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing, let’s go. Pidgeotto is getting annoyed. 

Indeed, he screeched at them, probably Pokémon for “hurry the fuck up you dumb sluts!” At least Hinata thought that energy sounded like that. 

“I think he just called us sluts,” Kageyama commented as he pointed at the Pokémon. 

Hinata cackled. “You read my mind, dude. Alright, then, let’s go!”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are approaching the end of this story! Only 1-2 chapters to go!

Their other Pokémon all caught up with them pretty quickly. They knew what was going on and seemed just as excited as they were. Pidgeotto soared over the forest, finally leading them to a clearing, where-

“...Pidgeotto, I hate to tell you this, but... that’s definitely not Iwaizumi.”

No, the creature before them was a confused gengar, staring at the group with its mouth open. 

Pidgeotto perched in a tree above them, seemingly adamant about that place being the spot. 

“Should we... run? What’s even going on?” Kageyama bit his lip (Hot. No, Hinata, shut up) as the gengar continued to stare. 

“I don’t think gengar live around here. Doesn’t really seem like their kinda place, so I’m assuming you have a trainer, right?” 

The gengar grinned and nodded. 

“Oh, good, could you take us to-“

“Hey, Ghostie~! Why’d you run off?” A sweet voice called out. 

Immediately, Kageyama’s eyes widened. 

A man stepped out from the trees, and Hinata instantly knew who he was. The smooth brown hair, big brown eyes, long legs, and the way he skipped and spoke all matched the descriptions perfectly. 

This was Oikawa. 

Before reaching the gengar (Ghostie, apparently,) he stopped, matching Kageyama’s baffled stare. The way his already-big eyes widened made him look almost vulnerable, like a stantler fawn. They stared at each other, both unmoving and unblinking.

“...Tobio-chan,” Oikawa finally spoke. “I didn’t expect to see you here. 

Golbat, aron, and umbreon surrounded their trainer instinctively, but Kageyama gave each a pat on the head for reassurance. 

“It’s... been a while,” Kageyama said. 

“Yeah.”

The silence was unbearable. The vibes almost physically hurt. Hinata swallowed thickly from the tension. 

Then, another man emerged from the trees from the same place as Oikawa. “Hey, Shittykawa, you could at the least give me a heads up when you’re about to run off and-“ his jaw dropped. “Kageyama? And, wait, you’re that guy I ran into before...” 

Hinata grinned nervously. That seemed to amuse gengar. 

“Yeah, who’s your friend? I don’t remember him.” Oikawa approached Hinata. 

“Uh, Hinata. Hinata Shoyo. I’m, uh...” he shook his head wildly. “No, this isn’t about me!”

Oikawa seemed genuinely surprised once again by that answer. He chuckled a bit, then turned back to Kageyama. “He’s interesting.”

“Yeah, he is,” Kageyama agreed. 

Again, painful silence. 

“Did you come all this way to find me?” Oikawa asked. 

“Yeah.”

“...Why?”

Now it was Kageyama’s turn to be surprised a second time. Frankly, that answer surprised Hinata, too. 

Iwaizumi tapped Hinata on the shoulder, then gestured at a log he was sat on. Hinata got it. This was probably gonna take a while. He nodded and sat down next to him. 

“You really don’t know?” Kageyama sighed in utter disbelief. 

“I have an idea, I guess, I’m just...” Oikawa broke eye contact. “I’m hoping that’s not it.”

“What’s your idea?”

He sighed and folded his arms. “Revenge, I guess?” Hinata couldn’t tell if the small smile he wore was one of shame or one of amusement. His body language seemed to suggest the former, though. 

“Hm... well, maybe that’s not too far off.” He rubbed his face in his hands. “Y’know, for so long, all I could think about was battling you and finally whooping your ass.”

“...Tobio-Chan?”

“You taught me almost everything I know. You showed me how to battle, taught me to use my head. And then, you suddenly turn around and start hating me.” Kageyama was very hard to read. “Suddenly, I’m a nuisance. Was I not good enough for you? Was I too weak for you to bother with? You looked down on me, it seemed like.”

Oikawa was much easier to read. He seemed bothered and even a bit upset as he considered his next words. “Ever since I left home, I’ve... changed. It wasn’t really easy for me. Though...” He rubbed the back of his head. “I think... you deserve an explanation.”

Kageyama simply nodded, still expressionless. 

“I was...” His face tightened a bit, almost like he was going to shed a tear. Iwaizumi apparently took that as some kind of cue and stood to rub Oikawa’s back in soft circles. “Afraid. Of you. It took me years to come to terms with that, but once I knew it, I thought... well, I thought I should apologize to you.”

Iwaizumi held his hand. 

“Tobio-chan, I’m sorry. I know I probably can’t do anything to actually make it up to you. I never looked down on you; I knew you had more talent than me. And that scared me. I didn’t know what to do, so I lashed out. I’m truly sorry.”

The apology made Oikawa’s eyes wet. Clearly, he’d been struggling with this for a long time. Maybe he needed this reunion just as much as Kageyama did. 

Speaking of Kageyama, Hinata was starting to worry. Kageyama still remained expressionless, staring at the man blankly. 

“I forgive you.”

Now it was EVERYONE’S turn to be shocked. 

Oikawa blinked a few times and swallowed. “You... forgive me?”

“Yeah. I forgive you.” Kageyama looked at Hinata. “I’ve... had a lot of time to think about this. And at first, I hated you. Hinata can attest to that.” He smiled. “But Hinata also helped me realise that I was too focused on that. I’m... kinda still mad about the HM thing, but you’ve... you’ve also changed. That’s even more reason to... y’know, leave the past behind.”

Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “Wait, HM thing? What are you talking about?”

“You don’t remember? You gave me a strength HM and told me I’d need it the next time I saw you.”

Iwaizumi clicked his tongue. “You said that?! You jackass!”

Oikawa grinned sheepishly. “Iwa-chan, I don’t even remember!”

“It sounds like something you’d do, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but smirked. 

“Iwa-chan, I was depressed! I was depressed, and I had a subconscious inferiority complex!”

“I think you still have one,” he cackled. 

“So mean, Iwa-chan.” He pouted. 

“I was wrong,” Kageyama sighed. “You haven’t changed at all.”

“What?! Tobio-chan, not you too!”

Hinata beamed at the three men, chatting as though they were old friends. He supposed that they were old friends, even if they had a falling out. Kageyama wanting to fight and beat him seemed like yesterday, yet it also felt like ancient history. He’d seen a lot of change since that day they met on the mountain. Now, Kageyama smiled every once in a while. He was happier, Hinata thought. 

“Hey, little dude! Your name is Hinata, right?”

Oikawa calling his name snapped Hinata out of his thoughts. “Yeah?”

“What do you say about a double battle?”

Hinata was taken aback. He looked to Kageyama to see what his reaction was. 

He was smiling. “We can kick their asses, and not for revenge.”

Hinata laughed. “Yeah. We can kick their asses together.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve double battled, but this should be fun,” Iwaizumi mused. 

All the Pokémon seemed just as excited. 

——

The excitement of a future double battle made Hinata unable to stop jittering with raw energy. He’d never fought alongside Kageyama before. And Oikawa was supposed to be pretty strong! And that meant his boyfriend was probably pretty strong, too! It made him so excited that he ended up calling all his friends about it. 

“Oh, Hinata, that’s great!” Suga has said. 

“Tell is how it goes! I’m glad to hear you all worked things out in the end!” Daichi had added. 

“Oh, you’re gonna fight him? Be careful, little dude, those two have kicked so much ass,” Kuroo had cackled. 

“You got this, though! Show them how awesome you guys are!” Bokuto had hooted. 

“It should be an interesting battle. It’s a shame that I can’t see it,” Akaashi had told him. 

“Wow, that sounds like so much fun!” Yachi had chirped. “I hope you guys win! I’ll cheer for you!”

“I will, too,” Kiyoko had said. 

“Wow, Shoyo, that’s exciting. I’ll come see it. Tomorrow afternoon, right?” Kenma had asked. “Wait, tell me where your other friends are, I can teleport them here, too.”

“Good luck, you guys! You and Oikawa both had no trouble beating me, so I’ll bet it’ll be a crazy match!” Ukai had cheered. 

“I think you two will win. That’s just my instinct,” Takeda commented. 

Various cheers of encouragement from the gym trainers came through on that call, as well. Ukai was only a little angry about everyone crowding around Takeda’s computer. Noya managed to snag the camera and hold it up to his face as he grinned and shouted. “Hinata, Kageyama, show them who’s boss!” That’s when Ukai really got pissed. 

Even after calling so many people, Hinata still had a lot of energy. Kenma offering to teleport everyone there was genius. That’s Kenma for you. He decided to make it a surprise for everyone and didn’t mention anything. 

But he still had jitters. Oh well. He decided to go back to their room and see what Kageyama was up to. 

But deja vu set in when he saw the empty room. 

“Oh, no, did he run off on his own again? This better not be like last time,” Hinata grumbled to himself. 

He searched the Pokémon center. No Kageyama. 

He went to the clearing they met Oikawa at. No Kageyama. 

He checked the food stands and asked around. No Kageyama. 

He was about to give up when he heard Kageyama’s voice faintly speaking from the beach. 

Now what the hell was that about?

Kageyama was pacing back and forth, ruffling up his hair and blushing madly. He’d stop every now and then to gesture at a person that wasn’t there, then become frustrated and continue pacing. 

It was too bad that Hinata couldn’t hear anything. His voice was really cute when he got flustered like that. He tended to stutter-

Lord, Hinata was long gone for that boy. 

“Hey, Kageyama!” Hinata shouted. He decided it was probably best to let him know he was there from afar. 

Indeed, Kageyama looked terribly shocked. He seemed to calm down after seeing how far away Hinata was, though, and he ran over quickly. 

“What are you doing out here?” He asked the shorter man. 

“That’s what I want to ask you! It looked like you were trying to figure out how to propose to someone!”

Kageyama choked on his spit. “That’s absurd! Why-what- why would you think that, of all things?!” The red on his face was very telling.

“Don’t tell me... you don’t have a thing for Oikawa, do you?”

“WHAT?!”

“He’s got a boyfriend, you know,” Hinata teased. 

“I am offended, insulted, and hurt. You’ve slandered me, Hinata.”

“I what-ed you?” Hinata giggled.

Kageyama smiled a little and shook his head. “Nothing, moron. Don’t you worry about it.”

Hinata hopped up close to him, fluttering his eyelashes and pouting ever-so-slightly. “Oh, tell me again, what did I do~?”

Kageyama held back a grin and shoved him. “You little shit.” He shook his head again. “Anyways, you wanna train a little?”

“You know I do!”

——

They had training match after training match until they could hardly keep their eyes open. Hinata wished it could keep going forever.


	18. Chapter 18

Abra really had a lot of work cut out for her, but she somehow managed to do it all in a timely fashion. Every single one of Hinata and Kageyama’s adventure friends were there. It almost made him nervous to see all the people that came to watch their battle. They all gathered into some kind of big mob, staring down at the four men on the beach while chatting amongst themselves. Saeko even came over to watch and closed up her shop for the day. And someone had somehow gotten their hands on a grill! People took turns grilling kebabs! The turn of events was bafflingly fast. 

Kinda like this whole battle situation, Hinata thought. It all happened before Hinata even realised it. 

Takeda, who was kind enough to volunteer as their referee, raised his arm. “This will be a double battle! Up to three Pokémon from each trainer are allowed! Once all six Pokémon from one team are unable to battle, the remaining team wins!”

Hinata gripped the pokeball in his hand. This was it. 

“Begin!” Takeda shouted. 

Oikawa flung a dusk ball into the air. “Ghostie first!”

It giggled as it appeared from the red light. 

Kageyama sent out his umbreon. He looked ready to party. 

“Alright then, typhlosion,” Iwaizumi said. 

“Ohmygodatyphlosionthat’ssocool!” Hinata sputtered. 

“Hinata, your Pokémon?”

“Right! Yeah! I choose you, pidgeotto!”

“Well. This should be interesting,” Iwaizumi said. 

Kageyama nudged him. “You take typhlosion, I’ll take gengar.”

“What?” Hinata jabbed him in the side. “No way, dude. We’re kicking their asses together, right?”

Kageyama was stunned, but he smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Let’s do this.”

The whole crowd (?) went wild. 

“Okay then, Umbreon, dark pulse!”

A shock wave of dark energy shot through the air at the opposing Pokémon, striking each with explosive force. 

“Wow, Tobio-chan, you’ve clearly trained a lot,” Oikawa commented. “Ghostie, thunder punch!”

“Oh man, dodge it, pidgeotto!”

It was a very narrow maneuver, but he managed to narrowly avoid the crackling first. 

“Lava plume!” Iwaizumi called out. 

That wasn’t an attack pidgeotto could dodge in time. The flames enveloped the bird, who fell to the ground. 

“Oh no, pidgeotto! Are you alright?” Hinata stepped forward a bit to get a better look. 

Pidgeotto turned to Hinata, flapped his wings, and chirped confidently. 

Hinata grinned. This was gonna be fun. 

——

The battle was gritty and enthralling. That much was obvious. All four of them were highly skilled (not that Hinata was rooting his own horn,) so the battle ended up going longer than Hinata had expected. And that’s saying something. 

The first to go down was gengar, who finally succumbed to the barrage of dark type attacks from umbreon. Oikawa whined so much that Iwaizumi kicked him in the leg (not too hard, but he still dramatically fell to the ground.) Shortly after he sent out his gyarados, apparently named Blub, pidgeotto suffered a terrible hit from hydro pump and was second to be knocked out. Hinata was nervous about sending spheal in, so he just sent out growlithe despite the type matchup. Umbreon and typhlosion went down at almost the same time after that. 

That was the point at which the crowd seemed to be making bets. Hinata could hear them hollering about it. It made sense, really. No one could really tell where this battle was going to go. 

Iwaizumi’s zangoose proved to be surprisingly strong by taking out growlithe, but Hinata’s little fire dog didn’t go down without a fight. Technically, growlithe actually knocked itself out with a last-resort flare blitz that used up the last of his energy. Hinata didn’t even ask him to do that, growlithe decided that on his own! It almost made Hinata want to scold growlithe later for being reckless but the blow left zangoose with only a tiny bit of energy left, so he accepted his Pokémon noble sacrifice and decided to only lightly scold him later. 

Combusken and lairon ended up working together on the final strike against gyarados. Oikawa has gotten cocky, laughing about how both their Pokémon were weak to water. What he neglected to remember was that gyarados’ flying secondary type made it weak to rock as well. Lairon unleashed devastatingly huge boulders from collected sand with rock slide, which combusken propelled with ember to create the nightmarishly fast rock slide that ended gyarados’ fight. Oikawa stopped laughing about type advantages after that. 

The hardy zangoose night slashed lairon to the end of its strength, but lairon was avenged by combusken, who double kicked zangoose into a tree for her final blow. 

And that was how they each got down to one Pokémon. 

Iwaizumi’s machoke stood next to Oikawa’s salamence (this one was named Draco), both completely still. Combusken and wartortle stared back with identical severity. Their Pokémon were much smaller than the two giants standing before them, but both were unwavering. Hinata nearly cried from pride in his little fire monster. Kageyama looked like he might have felt the same way about wartortle. Their matching sentiments made Hinata grin. No way were they gonna lose. 

Everything was painfully quiet. The battle somehow turned into a cowboy-style standoff. No one in the peanut gallery spoke; they were probably holding their breaths from the tension. Iwaizumi stared off with Hinata as the other two had their own staredown. All four of them were waiting for the first move. 

The waves hushed at them as the ocean breeze sang gently past their faces. 

“Draco, dragon claw!”

“Dodge it, wartortle!”

“Slide to the left!” Hinata shouted. 

Both Pokémon were narrowly able to dodge the claws that almost seemed to rip through the air itself. Hinata wiped the sweat from his forehead. This was the tense kind of shit he lived for. 

“Brick break, machoke!”

Now that one hit right on the mark. Combusken toppled into Wartortle, who fell as well. 

“Crunch, draco!”

“Wartortle, ice beam!”

Poor wartortle couldn’t get up fast enough and ended up in salamence’s jaws. 

Hinata could feel his mind running on nitro. Plans filled his head as the battle played out before him in slow-motion. Well, not really. Metaphorically. Is that what you’d call it? Dammit, focus, Hinata!

“Combusken, mirror move!”

Combusken pulled her beak into a confident smile and opened wide, copying the crunch salamence had just used. It head salamence dead on the neck, making it cry out angrily. 

“Grab it, machoke!”

Combusken was then lifted into the air in machoke’s burly arms (okay, seriously? The buff man has a buff Pokémon? That’s fucking hilarious, they looked like- for fucks sake, focus, you idiot!) She screeched angrily and flailed her limbs, but to no avail.

“Alright, seismic toss!” Iwaizumi called. 

Oh dear. 

Machoke jumped high into the air and slammed combusken hard into the ground. Sand scattered through the air into a thick cloud. Hinata coughed the particles out of his lungs, his eyes blinded by the wave of sand that crashed over everything around them. 

He began to panic a bit. That was a hard throw. Would she be okay? Could she still even be able to battle?

The sand cleared up, but Hinata still struggled to wipe it from his eyes. Once he did, though, he was baffled by what he saw. 

An injured combusken knelt beside machoke, breathing heavily. It took a second for Hinata to recognize what happened; somehow, in the midst of all the sandy chaos, combusken had landed a sky uppercut to machoke’s jaw. 

Well, that was definitely a new move. 

Machoke staggered, a hand reaching to rub its chin. Dark eyes glared down at combusken, who stood with a wobble. 

The whole audience went wild. Some people hollered with excitement, some cheered and chanted, and Hinata could swear he heard someone shout “That shit hurted!” 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi, however, took no time to be impressed and immediately sprang into action. 

“Machoke, it’s time for that thing we’ve been practicing!”

“Draco, go pick up machoke!”

Kageyama bit his lip. “Wartortle, rapid spin, legs!”

Wartortle spun wildly in his shell and crashed directly into machoke’s legs, tripping the fighting-type over completely. 

“Hell yeah! Combusken, flame charge!”

Combusken cloaked herself in flames, but it was too late. Salamence already swooped down and assisted machoke in hopping on its back. They began to spiral up into the sky in an ominous manner that made Hinata gulp. 

“Oh, man, you’ve got some kind of coordinated shit going on here?!” Kageyama shouted. 

Oikawa winked at him and stuck out his tongue. 

“Oh, no, combusken can’t take some ultimate attack shit, she’s already hurt!”

“Prepare to die!” Oikawa declared.

“Shut up, Shittykawa! Machoke, get ready for focus blast!”

Oikawa gasped in offense, but quickly shook it off. “Draco, it’s hyper beam time!”

Kageyama looked at Hinata. Their eyes locked in that strange way they always seemed to. “Trust me,” he said. 

The look in Kageyama’s eyes was something Hinata could barely describe. He was confident and serious, but there was a glint of mischief that Hinata had grown to recognize. Yet, despite this, his eyes bore deep into Hinata’s mind, as though they were screaming at him to believe in whatever Kageyama said at any cost. 

He couldn’t help but smile. “Alright. I’ll leave this to you, then.”

“Okay you two!” Oikawa called. “It’s time for hyper-focus-beam-blast!”

“I thought we said we were NOT calling it that,” Iwaizumi hissed. 

“Go!!!” He shouted, ignoring him completely. 

As salamence and machoke fell down at a deadly speed, they fired their attacks in perfect time. The giant bullet of pure energy from machoke merged with the bright, glaring light of the hyper beam attack into something bigger, brighter, and faster than Hinata ever could have imagined. 

He shut his eyes tightly and tensed his whole body. This was not about to be pretty. 

“Wartortle, mirror coat!”

Hinata loosened and opened his eyes. “Wait, wha-“

Wartortle launched himself directly into the death beam and glistened with a pinkish coating of glowing energy. A screen, quite similar to glass, appeared above his shell just before the double-attack could hit him. The resulting reverb wobbled through the air, stirring up sand with its sheer intensity. Bright light exploded as the beam vanished into the glass, leaving a massive white spot where it hit. 

And then it fired. 

With double the power (that’s what mirror coat does, of course), another gargantuan blast of energy burst from the screen directly into the air. Machoke and salamence were still free falling. There was nowhere to run. 

The blast created such an immensely forceful explosion that Hinata instinctively blocked his head with his hands, turned away, and squeezed his eyes shut even more tightly than before. 

Sand tickled Hinata’s face. The wind whipped around him. Silence fell. 

It took Hinata another second to open his eyes, but when he finally did, he saw salamence and machoke in a pile, unconscious and entirely defeated. He felt his jaw drop involuntarily. 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered. 

The observers broke out into cheers and screams. They won. Hinata and Kageyama won! Combusken, though injured, stood valiantly with Wartortle, back to back. They had their arms crossed in victory, and they grinned at each other. 

Hinata turned to look at Kageyama. Kageyama turned to look at him, expression identical and jaw just as dropped. Both started screaming “Oooh!” in sheer amazement and, before Hinata knew it, they were jumping into each other’s arms. They squeezed each other as tightly as they could and jumped a couple more times for good measure. 

“Holy shit, guys, that was fucking insane!”

Hinata looked over to see Bokuto dashing to the beach, followed by the rest of the viewers. He stopped in front of the victors and hooted. “Craziest shit I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“You said it,” Kuroo snickered. 

“Oh my gosh, Hinata! Kageyama! That was amazing!” Yachi chirped from behind the still-hooting Bokuto. 

Nishinoya jumped into the air. “I just watched the best fight ever!”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi joined the group, their hands intertwined until Oikawa turned to Kageyama. 

“Tobio-chan, you beat me,” he said simply. 

“No. We beat you.” He looked at Hinata and smiled. 

They were still hugging. Oh fuck. 

Hinata scrambled about a foot away from his partner and tried his best to stop blood from rushing to his face. Even if that was a futile effort. Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck. 

Iwaizumi laughed at them. He wasn’t sure why, but it made Hinata kinda mad. 

“There were a lot of creative techniques from all four of you,” Kiyoko told them. 

“Yeah, did you see that sky uppercut? Of course you didn’t, no one did, but we all sure saw the aftermath!” Tanaka roared. 

“How does your wartortle know mirror coat, Kageyama?” Yamaguchi asked.

Kageyama shrugged. “Always has. A parent probably knew it somehow. I just haven’t shown anyone until now.”

“Wow, a birth move!” Nishinoya cried.

Tsukishima sighed. “You’re all so loud,” he whined, but the bastard continued standing around with them. 

Hinata giggled. “I’m hungry after all that ass-kicking, can we go get some of those kebabs?”


	19. Chapter 19

Damn, Hinata loved them kebabs. Kageyama seemed to, too. They both chomped down one after another as everyone chatted around them. 

Kenma seemed to be having some kind of quieter discussion with Akaashi that Kuroo periodically jumped into (when he wasn’t dicking around with Bokuto). Kiyoko, Yachi, and Yamaguchi were chatting about... boys or something (Hinata was a bit too far away to hear.) the loudest of all were Noya, Tanaka, and Saeko, who were having some kind of eating contest while Asahi worriedly tried to stop Noya from swallowing food whole. Suga acted as the referee, while his fiancé watched the chaos fondly next to an amused Ukai. Tsukishima sat at the grill, bitterly critiquing Takeda’s grilling with only his eyes. The man in question was really flustered with frustration at the cold stare from behind him. 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi sat with Hinata and Kageyama, both clearly baffled by the size of their appetites. Neither of them said anything, though. 

“That’s it, boys, I’m running out of meat,” Takeda said. “I’m gonna have to cut you off.”

Kageyama, mouth full, made some sort of whine of disappointment. Hinata gave him a pat on the back and shook his head. 

Oikawa coughed. “You’ve had... 14... each.”

Hinata cocked an eyebrow and swallowed the rest of what was in his mouth. “So?”

“You... okay, wow.” Oikawa shook his head. 

Kageyama, mouth still full, stood. “Godda take a piff.”

“You what?” Hinata asked. 

Kageyama swallowed. “Piss.”

“Fuck, man, this is the hammock all over again. Just pee.”

Kageyama had already left. 

“The hammock?” Iwaizumi muttered. 

“What happened at a hammock?” Oikawa rested his face on his hands and blinked with wide eyes. “Did Tobio-chan do something embarrassing?” A devilish grin crawled up his face. 

Hinata cackled. “Oh, man, do I have some stories to tell you.”

——

After recounting several tales of Kageyama being stupid or embarrassing, Iwaizumi and Oikawa suddenly announced that they had to leave. 

“Oh, man, it’s already 3!” Oikawa stared at his watch in panic.”

Iwaizumi saw Hinata’s confused face and explained, “We’re meeting some friends soon. We meant to leave at 2.”

Oikawa gripped his hair. “Mattsun is never gonna let this go!”

Iwaizumi clicked his tongue. “I think Hanamaki is gonna be more of a problem.”

“Oh, fuck, you’re right!” Oikawa wailed. 

They said their goodbyes, and Hinata got a few new contacts to write down. And then they left. 

Everyone was starting to gradually leave by that point. Little by little, people asked Kenma to teleport them back home until the sun started setting and Hinata noticed the only ones left were himself, Kageyama, and Kenma.

“So everyone went home?” He asked Kenma. 

“No. Suga’s still here. Daichi left without him.”

Strange. Hinata figured that Suga had more important things to do than hang around on some island with a couple of nerds. 

For that matter, where was Kageyama?

“I’m gonna go see if I can find him,” Hinata said. 

“‘Kay.”

He decided to check the less-obvious places first, since he never had much luck finding people when he checked the places he thought they would be (stupid Kageyama.) The small patch of woods were empty, the beach only had some tourists, and the creepy pawn shop was empty. 

Hinata groaned. Why was he always running around looking for someone?

Thankfully, it wasn’t long after he left the pawn shop before he heard Suga’s voice. 

“...Kageyama, I say this out of love, I promise, but... you’re kind of stupid, you know that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Came Kageyama’s gruff reply. 

Hinata saw the backs of their heads from where they sat on a bench a ways away. 

“Listen, just say something. Anything, really!”

“It’s easier to say to say things than it is to actually say them!”

“Honey, chill. Look. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. Like, at all. I’m not gonna say much, but I like to think I’m observant-“

Hinata sprinted away. He learned his lesson from the last time he eavesdropped in those two. That was not gonna happen again. 

——

By the time Suga and Kenma left, sunset was nearly over. Hinata sat on the bench in the crater from when lairon evolved, watching the oranges and yellows die down with the falling sun beyond the horizon. He could feel himself zoning out as he stared into the sky. There was a lot to think about:

1- what the fuck do I do about my crush on Kageyama 

2- now that we found Oikawa and fought him, what’s gonna happen next?

3- what the FUCK do I do about my crush on Kageyama 

It all made Hinata’s chest hurt a bit. Uncertainty wasn’t generally something that bothered him, but now, it was eating him up from the inside out. If Kageyama left, what was Hinata going to do? The thought of traveling aimlessly around alone was once a thrilling concept, but now it scared him. It just wouldn’t be the same without Kageyama anymore. All he could think of was how lonely it’d be to go out on his own. It never bothered him before. Okay, so maybe it did a little bit, but meeting all kinds of new people and calling Kenma and Hinata’s family always removes that feeling of loneliness. 

Maybe... it wouldn’t do that anymore. 

“Hey.”

Hinata flinched and yelped. When did Kageyama sit next to him?!

“Hi! Hello!” He took a deep breath. “You scared me. What’s up?”

“I’m... saying something.” His face was bright red.

Hinata stared. “What?”

“Uh, Suga thinks the sky looks cool. I mean, doesn’t the sky look cool?”

“Kageyama, what the fuck are you talking about?” Hinata chuckled. 

“It’s, uh...” He tapped his fingers on his knees rhythmically and stared at the ground. “It’s nice.”

“Yup.”

A pause. 

“Kageyama, are you okay? You’re like ‘blah’ right now.”

“I have... feelings?”

Hinata giggled. “What?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing, okay?! Suga was trying to help but I think he overestimates my ability to speak words!” 

“I mean, if words are such a big issue for you, why not try to find a way around them?”

Kageyama squinted. “Huh?”

“I dunno, whenever I don’t know what words to use, I’ll either make some up or I’ll just do something instead of talking about it.”

“What, you mean mime it out?”

He chuckled. “No, no. That whole ‘actions speak louder than words’ thing. If you don’t know how to say something, just do it, y’know?”

“Just... do it?”

“Yeah, do the thing that says the words if you can’t say them. I don’t know if that applies to your situation, but-“ a sharp movement cut him off.

Woah. Wait. 

Kageyama kissed him. 

It was so quick that Hinata barely registered what had happened, but he definitely just pecked him on the lips. 

“Uh,” Hinata squawked. 

Kageyama’s eyes widened in terror. “I’m sorry- I just- I thought-“ His hands tightened on his shorts. “I didn’t mean to make you- ah-“ He looked like he might cry. “I feel- um- I’m sorry-“

Hinata grabbed the other man’s face and kissed him with fervor. He felt the tension in Kageyama’s body melt away as their lips mingled together. 

He somehow looked even redder than before. “Hinata, I-“

“I like you too.” Hinata rested his forehead against Kageyama’s and smiled. 

“...Thank you.”

He cackled. “What?! What kind of reaction is that?! Kageyama, what the fuck?!” Giggles bubbled up from Hinata’s body uncontrollably. 

“I don’t know! Shut up! You’re so annoying!”

Hinata kissed him on the forehead. “And you’re the stupidest person I’ve ever met.”

“Dumbass.”

“Stupidyama.”

...

Hinata wasn’t sure who started making out with who, but he didn’t really care. 

——

“So,” Hinata spoke between bites of eggs, “what do we do now?”

“I’m not really sure.” Kageyama sipped his milk. “I uh... I’d like to stay with you, if that’s alright.”

“Dumbass. No way you’re getting rid of me now.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, but smiled. 

“Is there anywhere you wanted to go?” Hinata asked. 

“Eh, I was kinda thinking you could be in charge now. I did what I wanted to do. It’s your turn.”

Hinata had to think. Was there anything he really wanted to do? He tried to remember the dreams he had as a child that were left in the past, forgotten for one reason or another. Catch a Pokémon? Done. Climb the tallest mountain in the region? Done. Go to space? Well, maybe that one wouldn’t happen. Fly with Rayquaza? Now that was definitely not happening. 

Or...

“Y’know, there’s these rumors about an island way off the north coast that has a giant old pillar on it. No one has ever found it ‘cause there’s so much fog, but legend says that rayquaza visits the top of the pillar sometimes.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that.” He finished off his milk and wiped his mouth. “So you’re saying you want to go to the north coast, enter the most dangerous part of the sea, find an island that might not exist and no one has seen, climb a probably-crumbling, ancient tower that also might not exist, and hang out with a legendary Pokémon that might not even be there?”

“That’s the idea.”

Kageyama chucked his empty cup into the trash can a few feet from them. “Sounds cool. I’m in.”

——

If someone had told Hinata that the grumpy jerk he met at the top of a mountain would later be his boyfriend and partner in crime (well, maybe more like partner in shenanigans), he would’ve laughed in their face. But there they were, on a ferry to Hinata’s hometown for a pit stop, holding hands. A lot had happened over the past few months, some good and some bad, but Hinata knew that this development was one of the best. 

Combusken chased someone’s poor sentret around, cackling like the queen of chaos she was. Growlithe and wartortle took a nap in the sun together, while lairon and spheal watched the view from the railing. Golbat, pidgeotto, and umbreon were bouncing a ball back and forth between each other. Ekans was wrapped around Kageyama’s shoulders. 

“So your town has more of a rock platform-cliff thing than a beach, huh?” Kageyama asked. 

“Yeah,” Hinata answered. “I’m a bit worried about what my family is gonna do when I show up unannounced with some guy they’ve never met.”

Ekans slithered up from Kageyama’s shoulder and began to drape herself over Hinata. The man in question froze in surprise, but grinned with excitement. 

“Woah, I think she likes you now!” Kageyama laughed. 

“H-heavy...” he coughed out sarcastically. “She’s heavier than I thought she’d be.”

“Oh, come on, she’s only about 15 pounds.” Kageyama gave her a rub on the head. “You’re being so nice, ekans.”

Hinata laughed and sank to the floor. “I am small!”

Kageyama crouched down beside him and smirked. “You little fucker, get up.”

Hinata stuck out his tongue and stood once more. He giggled. 

“Hinata, you’re so stupid.” Kageyama chuckled. 

“We’re both stupid.” Hinata put his arm around his waist and leaned his head on his shoulder. “We are both so, so stupid.”

Ekans wrapped herself around both of them as they watched the island shore grow smaller and smaller, eventually falling out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s the end! 
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who read this. This is the first time I’ve ever actually posted a fic before and I’m honestly surprised that anyone read it at all.
> 
> I’m not really active on social media, but I have an empty blog on tumblr @fluidfox. I guess if there’s questions or something I’m more likely to see it there. I really don’t post anything, though. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks again! Stay safe!


End file.
